Nomads of Rust
by shotgunRunner
Summary: Savage is a Deadbeat living on an old, secondhand ship with a crew of nobodies trying to do some good for the star system. Each of their crewmembers has an old, dusty skeleton living in the proverbial durasteel closet, and maybe it's best if those skeletons remained hidden. Content warnings inside.
1. Chapter 1 - In With The New

**Note: The following story contains mentions of body horror, gore, violence, blood, and in the later half, mentions of genocide, emotional manipulation and abuse. If you are not comfortable with any one of these, close the tab and step away. I won't judge.**

* * *

Raiko paced along the edges of the slime pool, her boots squelching against the moist, warm, vaguely pulsating ground of the cave. "If I had time, I could construct a pulley-system to get you out of there, but we left excess gear back at the-"

"Less talk. More getting me out of here." Savage could feel the cold fluid creeping up their scalp, sinking into their hair. As they were taught years ago, Savage was lying on their back, distributing their weight in such a way that the turgid gel supported them. However, they could still feel themselves sinking, or perhaps being sucked into the pink gel, physics and weight distribution be damned. It smelled of stomach acid with a hint of day-old blood sausage.

"Logically, you have more time than you think," Raiko mused, the tips of her fins twitching as she looked towards the crimson ceiling. "Once the slime engulfs you completely, your EPP will activate and with the right amount of luck, which is quite a lot, you can survive down there for as long as you can retain fluids and food."

Savage resisted the urge to flail about in frustration, and instead resorted to rolling their eyes. "I can't save the star system in the middle of a slime pit. Look, just… less talking, more thinking, okay? Don't you have that attraction staff? Might help."

"I think better when I talk- The attraction staff! Of course!" Raiko jumped, her boots sending bits of fleshlike material splattering into the slime puddle. "One second!"

"Make it half, please."

Out of the corner of their eye, Savage saw Raiko reaching behind her, retrieving a platinum staff with a ferozium tip. She pointed it and activated the attraction field somewhere slightly above Savage, the glowing Ferozium briefly illuminating Raiko's face and gills.

A loud noise howled from within one of the caverns leading away from the cavern. Savage jolted, agitating the gel and speeding up their descent. Even Raiko paused for a second, the ferozium staff powering down, before an amorphous lump whizzed out of a cavern. It landed right at the edge of the gel pool, agitating the fluid and causing Savage's calves to suddenly pop beneath the surface of the gel.

"Complications!" Raiko shouted.

The flesh lump was vaguely shaped like a fist that had melted down into an unnameable mass, only a hundred times larger and more skinless than the average human fist. If Savage would have been able to stand, the thing would have been as tall as their shoulder. Its eyes, scattered across the entire structure, swiveled around and pulsed like balloons deflating and inflating again, their multicolored irises looking in about a hundred different directions. They scoped and jittered about for ten seconds, before swirling around to focus on Savage.

As the flesh bag lumbered towards its mark, Savage's hips started sinking into the muck. They collected fluid in their mouth, in an attempt to spit at the fleshbag, but accidentally swallowed a splash of gel. Savage's last meal nearly came up as they tried to force the indescribable aftertaste out of their throat.

"Raiko! Pull that thing out first!"

"One-two!"

The fleshy thing lit up with a bluish glow. Slowly, it rose into the air, the gel making a sickly _schlup_ as it suctioned and broke away. It writhed in midair, as though it were filled with thousands of bugs. Even as Savage's torso gave way and sank into the muck, the fleshbag flew into the corner of the room with a squelch and slid down the walls, leaking clear juice.

" _Mine!"_

A green blur whizzed over Savage, just barely visible above their goggles. A Floran, green and sporting ovoid leaves sticking out at the back of their head, charged at the deflating bag of flesh on the ground. They unsheathed two deadly durasteel blades, murder in their black, beady eyes and a wicked grin flashing pointed teeth.

The fleshy attacker never had a chance. Wet chunks of meat and other unspeakable matter splattered the ground as Medotha the Floran annihilated the fleshy bag. The smell of offal and blood quickly filled the room.

"Raiko," Savage muttered through gritted teeth.

"O-oh, of course!"

Again, the bluish light pulsed, and Savage felt themselves gently lifted out of the gel. Raiko gently set Savage onto the ground, flicking strings of gel onto the already-moist ground. Savage took a deep breath, whistled in gratitude, and started wiping gel off themselves.

"Raiko, I think you should get a sample of this gel, I think it's stinging me… where's your sample case?"

"I left it with Chips. He was right behind me before we were separated."

Just as she had finished speaking, a tall, strapping figure emerged from the caverns behind Raiko. A feathered Avian, almost two full heads taller than Raiko and twice as muscular approached. His feathers would have been pure white, had not half his face been covered with a foul-smelling flesh-colored fluid. He carried a durasteel case at his hip and no less than two automatic-fire rifles on his back.

"Chips, the case, please," Raiko hurriedly urged, not even turning around. She picked up a dropper and a tiny phial from her pouch. Chips grunted, set the case on the ground, and backed two steps away, eyeing the caverns behind him with a silver eye. Savage could hear faint roaring and wet sounds coming from the cavern.

"Chips? Food, those weird growths from the other cavern? Got 'em?"

Wordlessly, Chips shook two fabric bags at his hip. Each were filled to bursting, and sloshed about weirdly.

Before Savage could respond in approval, the cavern behind Chips filled with other flesh bags, complete with eyes, some with deformed legs and some with horns sticking out at random angles. Chips already had their weapon out and started firing at the amorphous flesh blobs with energy blasts, splattering the cave edges with scorched flesh. They let out keening, watery cries as they tried to advance beyond the cavern lip, gunned down by Chips's fire.

"Raiko! You done there? We need to go!"

"Not yet, Savage! Give me forty seconds!"

Savage swore and reached for their belt. The stun grenade should do the trick, they thought, retrieving a dark gray metal capsule from their pouch.

"Chips, when you're ready!"

Two seconds passed, with nothing but gunfire. Then Chips turned their head, just enough to give Savage a tiny nod.

At Chips's signal, Savage hurled the grenade through the air. It hit the ground at the exact moment Chips's gun powered down.

"Flash active, take cover!"

The flesh cavern lit up with enough light to power a city. Savage watched the insides of their eyelids glow bright red, their hands firmly planted on their ears to block out the snap. The flash ended, and Savage opened their eyes, blinking away the stars.

Through the haze of the stun grenade, the cavern was a cacophony of noise. The remaining flesh bags were screaming wildly, knocking into each other, sporting blackened burns. As if from far away, Savage heard Raiko calling out to them. "Sample isolated, we have to go! Candela! Candela, teleport us back!"

The last thing Savage saw before whizzing back to the ship at warp speed was a fleshbag seemingly coming to its senses, before being obscured by a whizzing streak of green and metal. Before they could chide Medotha, the communicator at their belt let out a buzz of static.

"Going up."

* * *

The locker rooms were empty. Everyone just assumed that Savage was the most accustomed to filth, next to Medotha, so they got to the showers last. It was hot shower day, and already the drain was suffused with a thick, viscous layer of pinkish fluid from the flesh cave. Medotha got the best of it; they had completely reduced a single flesh bag into pulp when they returned to the ship, much to Candela's chagrin.

Wiping down their head with a towel, the steam of the shower wafting over the steel walls, Savage opened their locker and got dressed in their shirt and overalls. As they technically weren't a fully-licensed spaceship crew, no one wore uniforms. Technically, and in no less than 15 local star systems, the crew of _The Rust Frigate_ would be considered "vagabonds" or "unaffiliated wanderers". At worst, in some Miniknog-controlled settlements, they would be shot down if Savage so much showed their face to the guards, hence their mask and disguise collection.

Savage shut the door to the locker, and behind it stood another Deadbeat.

They had seen this face before. Her blue face was half-concealed by messy black locks. Her similarly dark eyes, large for her face and almost lifelessly glassy, stared blankly at Savage. She was half a foot shorter than Savage, giving her the impression of a rich philanthropist who had fallen to the abuse of various psychedelics and banned substances. Her clothes were dirty, but sturdy enough to survive the hot desert where she and Savage used to live.

It also happened to be someone Savage never wanted to see again.

"It's been a while, Savage."

"It's literally been two hours. A few minutes less, even. I beat Chips's record."

"Not quite. How many hours has it been? Geiga-years?"

Even as Savage turned towards the code mechanism at the door, the girl was standing by the exit, leaning against the moist white wall. The moisture in the air clouded the mirrors hanging on the walls, but the girl's unkempt hair stayed as dry and frizzy as it would have been in the middle of the Baixi desert. Savage rolled their eyes. She always had this habit of hanging out where she shouldn't be, watching all the time. Somehow being there, when no one else was around. Inconspicuous, always with lightly-peppered words that tugged on exactly the wrong nerves.

"Always avoiding the question. For your information, it's been 26,356.6 Geiga-hours. Which, for your information, is 26,256.1 Earth-hours, and 26,355 Standard-Galaxy hours."

"You seem very invested in the specific time of when Geiga died off," Savage sniffed. They leaned back against the lockers and folded their arms, glaring at Nikolee. "Then again, _you_ should know."

"You did nothing to stop me. You _wanted_ this. You even took me away from Geiga to here." Nikolee was smiling now, her dark, glossy eyes narrowed in anticipation.

Savage glared, their hands balling into fists, but didn't respond.

"And, look at this cool new ship you live in now." Nikolee turned her head towards the white halogen lights and twirled once, arms outstretched as if catching sunshine, her eyes closed. "I'd say it was worth it. Wouldn't you?"

"Always doing things for my own benefit, did you?" Savage let out a bitter laugh. "I don't think _genocide_ is worth having someone you obviously didn't care for wander the stars in peace."

" _Relative_ peace," Nikolee interrupted.

"Right".

Nikolee sniffed in disdain, shuffling her feet and looking up at Savage. "It wasn't personal. It's not exactly what you think it is. Just a matter of breaking a cage that kept you trapped."

"At the cost of so many people. People we _knew_."

Nikolee's smile faded, to be replaced by gentle scorn. "But I cared for _you_ , Savage. Not them. I gave _you_ freedom. Why won't you accept it?"

Savage gritted their teeth and looked away, half their words lost in their throat as they struggled to find words that were worthy of the situation. "Because… because you're horrible."

"Oh, now you're calling names? No fancy monologue or anything? No armor-piercing question that chews away at my defenses and leaves me vulnerable? That's not very eloquent of you. Try a little harder. You can make that exit a little better. Slam the door, punch me in the face, do something other than stand there and try to ignore what I'm telling you."

"I'm not worth that much destruction," Savage muttered. "If you knew me at all, you'd know that."

Nikolee giggled, and started laughing. Her mirth bounced off the metal walls of the locker room, multiplying and filling Savage's mind. There were twelve Nikolees laughing at once, but Savage felt no warmth in their laughter. The sheer cold in cackling nearly threw Savage off balance, making the bile bubble up in his throat. "But you're worth so much to me, Savage. I know you so much more than you think. You're _special_."

" _Don't call me that_!"

Savage advanced on Nikolee, fingers digging into their palms, ready to strike. "Don't call me _special._ You don't get to tell me what I'm like. Your words mean _nothing._ "

It took a moment before Savage realized they were speaking to thin air. They looked up and spotted Nikolee at the end of the room, a faint, satisfied smile on her face. "If my words meant nothing, Savage, you wouldn't even be listening to me right now."

Sighing, they dropped their hand and whistled in exasperation. "You never change, do you? Never owning up to anything. If anything in this room doesn't listen, it's _you_."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Nikolee sang cheerfully, walking over to Savage and tweaking their nose. "You'd better go, star trooper. I hear some bad news coming your way. Try to _focus_ this time, won't you?"

Someone knocked on the durasteel sliding door from outside. They knocked twice, and Raiko's voice called from outside, filled with concern. "Ah, eh, Savage? We've gotten a reply from the research satellite. The Head's on the video feed right now."

Savage glared at Nikolee, who was walking towards the lockers. "On my way," they growled through gritted teeth, as Nikolee gave them a wink.


	2. Chapter 2 - Bottom Of The Barrel

Savage sank into one of the plush chairs in the main room. Which was also the mess hall, meeting room, the reception room, the room-where-the-teleporter-is, and room-that-needs-the-most-cleaning. It was a rather simple room lined with the usual durasteel and tempered glass fare that most older ships carried. However, the furniture was all mismatched, owing to Candela and Chips's tendency to buy, barter, and occasionally scavenge pieces of furniture from random planets.

An iron chair decorated with hastily-cobbled spears sat in a corner next to a living plant, whose origins were currently unknown. Medotha, currently slouched sideways against the armrest, occupied that one when she wasn't wandering the ship or busy cutting up dummies in the training room. Chips sat in a blue swivel chair four feet away from Medotha. The chair almost seemed too small for him. Every time he moved, the chair gave out a little creak of protest which went promptly ignored. As usual, his face did not betray any hint of discomfort, or any hint of any emotion at all.

Two plush chairs in pink and green sat near the back of the room, sidled behind a steel and fiberglass table. Usually Raiko took both of the plush chairs, but today she sat in front in the only wooden chair, looking up at the screen in front. She had traded in her explorer's outfit for a more casual wide-sleeved top and loose pleated skirt.

The screen was a cheap projector-type hologram screen with a dated, greenish display. The ship came with a built-in communications system with hologram screen, but the crew couldn't afford a better system, much less an upgrade. The projector itself sat on a Hylotl-style end table next to a sliding door that led to the pilot's cockpit. On the screen was a Glitch in a lab coat and a rumpled button-up shirt, green, glowing green pixelated eyes seemingly looking out into the distance. The brightly colored yellow tie around his neck on top of a rumpled button-up shirt proclaimed "MAN!" in bold, yellow letters. He was constructed out of brushed iron, though there were stray platinum panels here and there. Overall, Bax Silverscreen wasn't the most prim and proper Glitch out there, but he seemed to get the job done.

The room had been cleaned hastily, Savage noticed. While everything looked scrubbed at first glance, Savage could still smell a bit of blood sausage from the teleporter.

"Informative," Silverscreen droned in a synthetic, staticky voice, apparently in the middle of some exposition. "The samples and reports you've sent to us indicate that the fleshification of Planets XT-112, XT-335 and XT-450 "Wyldefua" is not a natural process."

"It is free food, at least," Medotha commented, picking at their fangs with a bit of bone. "Not very good food."

"Disapproving. The meat planets are not to be consumed." The Glitch's glowing neon green eyes narrowed as they took a moment to bore into Medotha for a second longer. The Floran hissed in response, showing their rows of flesh-tearing teeth.

"Let us stay on track, please," Raiko chided. Even though she kept her posture straight-backed, she reached into a wide sleeve and pulled out a pack of candied bacon, mouthing the word _fleshification_ to herself. She tossed it to Medotha who immediately dug into the meat with gusto. Looking satisfied that Medotha was distracted, she turned back to Silverscreen.

"As we were saying, Silverscreen, we also found samples of animated flesh. I managed to send over bits of the fleshlings, including eye tissue, nerve tissue, chitinous material, and somatic flesh. Do we have anything on that? Can we call them fleshlings?" Raiko added, whispering to Savage, Chips, and Medotha in the back. Chips didn't reply, but remained stony-faced on his tiny swivel chair. Savage shrugged wordlessly. Medotha didn't seem to notice anything else in the face of candied bacon.

"Matter-of-fact. More tests will have to be run, but we assume they are results of rapid mutation. They seem to be mimicking cell growth from a source radiating from the center of the flesh tumor."

"...Flesh tumor…?" Raiko looked back again, with a hint of absolute terror on her face, gills at her neck wide open.

Silverscreen's green eyes narrowed again, this time at Raiko. "Irritated. The flesh cavern can also be called a tumor in common language."

"Ah, right, of course, of course! Sir!" Raiko took out a pad and engrossed herself in writing, flustered. "Tumor… flesh…"

"Skeptical. I assume you have reached the center of the tumor?" Silverscreen leaned forward, his neon green eyes blinking left and right, as if to scope the crew better.

Savage stood up and sighed. Raiko wasn't going to be of much help from here on out, they presumed. She always had a bit of a problem with exact terminologies and being confronted with them. "We haven't gotten to the middle of the cavern," Savage replied. "Didn't have enough time."

"Irritated. Logically, you had more time than you thought. You could have stayed in the caverns longer, unless you ran out of food or water, which is when you should have returned."

"Reasonable man," someone quipped from the back of the room. Looking left, Savage saw that Nikolee was leaning back against the wall, her arms folded and grinning slightly at Silverscreen. As usual, Chips, sitting four feet away from her, stared straight ahead, stony-faced.

"Complications," Savage replied to Silverscreen. "We were overrun with the fleshlings. Not sure how many, but a lot."

"Condescending. Was the "armed and dangerous" section of your application, say, an exaggeration of facts?" Silverscreen's green eyes flashed menacingly.

Savage took a moment to give Medotha a pained glance. Someone really had to teach her how to write proper letters of recommendation later.

"We can always go back. Go back to the flesh caverns, gather more data, and return. Can't take more than a few hours." Savage looked back at Silverscreen, trying not to betray any nervousness or apprehension in their features. "We are ahead of schedule, after all."

Silverscreen, for all his robotic features, looked a bit smug as he responded. "Negative. I no longer need you."

"Really, Silverscreen?" Raiko looked up from her notes, having written anywhere from four to nineteen pages. "I know we are the proverbial bottom of the barrel, but really? You could not have found another team that quickly. This is the XT Solar System; it is more or less the middle of nowhere."

"Smug. That is a non-issue. I've been promoted." Silverscreen's chest seemed to puff out in pride.

"That's… great?" Raiko sounded confused.

"Irritated." Silverscreen glared, adjusting his lurid tie. "I have a new team now."

"No way," Savage replied, rolling their eyes, hoping their voice served up the right amount of sarcasm. "Out in the middle of nowhere."

The Glitch ducked out from the screen, oblivious to the supposed sarcasm. They bumped the display slightly, causing a wave of static to flicker from below the frame and begin wavering upwards. They then reappeared just as the wave of static disappeared at the top, their eyes slightly yellowish. In excitement, they brandished a red envelope at the screen, knocking their own camera off-kilter.

"Raiju…?" Raiko squinted up at the envelope.

"Pleased. Raiju Corporation-sealed and approved."

Savage peered as closely as they could at the pixelated envelope. The red was accentuated by gold curlicues spreading from the edges towards the center. The flap was dolloped with a round drop of gold wax, stamped with a vaguely Hylotl-esque seal of straight lines. A central line extended from the top and center and crawled downward, branching out into a complex pattern of interlocking vertical and horizontal lines. Below the seal, embossed golden letters proudly proclaimed the name RAIJU.

"This is a high-end promotion," Nikolee mused, looking up at the screen, her frown lightening slightly. "And you are… employed… by the Raiju?"

"Dubious." Silverscreen took a moment from his glowing moment of pride to shoot Raiko a quizzical glance. Yes. I am."

Raiko's frown returned in full force. "Why did you not tell us?"

Silverscreen's display suddenly froze. Savage raised their eyebrows as they gave Nikolee a glance. She remained focused on the screen, where a surprised Silverscreen jittered slightly on the aged display.

"Mr. Silverscreen? Bax?" Raiko waved her fingers in front of the screen. "Did it stop…?"

Savage stood up from their plush blue chair and fiddled with the controls on the wooden end table. Everything seemed to be working fine. The feed was still ticking the minutes away, and the cooling system was still giving off a healthy hum. "Still working-"

Without warning, Bax Silverscreen reached for his dashboard. The video abruptly cut to a black screen and a monotonous hum.

"Hey!" They started tapping away at the interface and restarted a call to Silverscreen. No response. Even Chips let out a cluck of disapproval.

Savage poked away further at the dashboard buttons. They tried a second line, usually reserved for emergency broadcasts. There was no response, only the beeping of a busy line.

"Who are these Raiju people?" Medotha approached Savage and Raiko near the front, pretending to peer curiously at the clunky projection system on the end table. She was still chewing on a piece of candied bacon, though she looked as miffed as everyone else.

"The Raiju are an interplanetary corporation, mostly developing medicines and luxury products. They are not very popular here as their products tend to be too expensive for the lower economic classes, but they are the most popular makeup and pharmacy brand in the second quadrant of this galaxy." Raiko recited, as though she had read it all and absorbed the words from a shared digital resource.

"Seemed pretty interesting. Why did you ask him about it?" Savage pulled up a digital console on the hologram display and tried to force a new connection to Silverscreen using a nearby communications beacon, located on an asteroid orbiting the neighborhood star. Normally, this would have been too much of a tip-off for local authorities, whoever they may be, but Savage hoped that just _one time_ , they wouldn't notice. Besides, barely anyone would be paying attention to this corner of the galaxy.

"They have good-quality products, full of the approved minerals and pigments. They are however, the target of much speculation on blackmail, planetary trespass, and invasion leading to "irreparable damage". I only managed to read about "irreparable damage" before the resource I was viewing was wiped clean."

"Digital resources. Unreliable. No, Chips, back off." Savage huffed. Chips retreated back to his seat, having been silently creeping towards the system with a monkey wrench raised. Even then, Savage gave the machine more than just a firm tap on the side, earning them another disapproving cluck from Chips.

"Written sources?" The screen let off a barely audible beep as they sent several lines of code that would automatically force a connection through the ship's secondary line. Savage drummed their fingers against the wooden table, humming a random tone, waiting for something, anything.

"Most of their written sources are documents written by the company. For the… er, company." Raiko's gaze drifted upward. "It's mostly advertisements and a book on their history. And you know what people who write about themselves are like."

Medotha snorted.

The screen jittered. The hologram shifted, forming the dark rectangle of a loading video feed. Savage drummed their fingers even more quickly. They could tell from the light footsteps that Raiko was pacing, lost in memory. From behind, Savage could still hear the last of the candied bacon being devoured.

The display suddenly let out a flat beep of disapproval. The words "No Connection Found" flashed in bright yellow across the video feed. Savage closed the console and plopped into a nearby folding chair. "Lost Silverscreen. Scrap devil didn't even pay us."

Savage got no response. Even the crinkle of Medotha's candied bacon faded as everyone stared off into the distance, avoiding each others' gaze. Only a hum from the ship's electronics and unused communications panel filled the room and diluted the uncomfortable silence, albeit slightly.

The door to the pilot's cockpit slipped open, breaking the bubble momentarily. A clean-shaven human barely past adolescence swayed in the doorway, wearing a rumpled, white, modified ship captain's uniform and holding a brown, fuzzy creature with pointed ears and whiskers in their gloved arms. However, the pants had been modified to shorts that ended above the knee. He had long, wiry red hair and tired, dark eyes that scanned the room with an air of gloom.

"I'm guessing Silverscreen is ignoring us again, eh?" he asked.

"I'm assuming he will be ignoring us for a very long time," Raiko sighed. She laid her head down on the glass table, notepad only a few inches away. "He has a new team now. Presumably a better one, and better trained."

"I heard." Candela dropped the cat gently onto the tiles. It let out a plaintive meow and wandered back through the cockpit door. "Well, now what do we do?"

Still, no one could figure out what to say. Even Nikolee wasn't mouthing off, even though it was plain to see that she knew the most obvious answer.

"We could just… go."

Everyone turned to look at Raiko.

"There's nothing left for us here." Raiko lifted her head off the fiberglass table, her voice carrying clear dejection. "It's always the same, isn't it? People decide they don't want us anymore, and… we go."

Savage sighed. "Don't think we're done here. Can't just leave. Yet."

"We can. We have to. The longer we stay here, the longer we run the risk of being caught without a proper ship license." Raiko curled up and rested her head on her knees. "I'm sorry, but I want to learn more about this… _fleshification_... as much as anyone else, but… we can't stay here too long."

"We can," Medotha quipped. "It can't be too hard to fight off the local authorities without turrets or lasers."

Chips reached over and rapped Medotha on the wrist, still saying nothing.

Raiko continued, an opaque flush rising in her fins. "Silverscreen probably could report us to the authorities if he isn't trustworthy. Judging by his choice of personnel, we cannot trust him. And in turn, he cannot trust us."

"Oooh, burn," Nikolee chuckled.

"Raiko, do we really want to keep running away from our problems like this?" Savage asked. "I get that we have to keep a relatively low profile, but this problem won't go away if we just take off."

"It's not _our_ problem," Candela murmured, shuffling uncomfortably.

"We don't have to solve every problem in the universe," Raiko replied placidly. "Do you recall that Silverscreen has a team sponsored by Raiju? I'm sure they can handle this."

"You said it yourself. Raiju isn't the best at being the best. Morally speaking." Savage blinked, and looked outside of the porthole.

"None of us are really the best at being good people," Raiko reasoned, giving Chips and Medotha a pained glance. "There is no reason to try to be."

Savage wrestled for any sort of response in their mind. Nothing came up.

In the first place, Savage knew that the six of them were the living epitome of "up to no good", according to everyone else on the solar system. All of them (and Candela's cats) were sitting ducks in an unlicensed ship, taking odd, dangerous jobs from everyone ranging from small corrupt corporate executives to strange cloaked individuals skulking in some dead-end trading post on an abandoned moon. None of them got ever got out of a job without a new scar or another undocumented minor crime to speak for it, but they were still alive. Still ready to take on more of the universe's underside to keep breathing recycled air another day.

Savage glanced at everyone in the ship in turn. Medotha was the very definition of "up to no good." When everyone returned from the expedition at the flesh caverns, Candela had assumed that Medotha had single-handedly murdered an entire army, given how caked she was in gore and stray flesh. Not to mention her penchant for meat and generally being a gadfly to everyone on the ship. Safe to say, she probably would sell everyone on the ship for a moment of fun. And then take everything back just to watch the creditor burn.

On the other side of the spectrum, Chips barely said anything. He averaged about two words per week. Thankfully, he wasn't as destructive as Medotha, but the way he kept neutral and composed even as he mowed down fleshlings and various other pests with a variety of rare, destructive guns struck Savage as unnatural. Someone who was this undisturbed couldn't be anything near good, or stable. It was a good thing he was more reliable than half the crew, or Candela wouldn't have allowed him on the ship at all.

Raiko was arguably the one best equipped to argue morals and goodness. Her demeanor and education simply did not belong on this ship, but she insisted that she had nowhere to go but the underside of the universe. She evidently wasn't here to look for friends either, as her tone gave away her belief that no one here had a clean slate. Whatever she believed in, it was probably a standard that no one here could reach. If Raiko wasn't satisfied with how prim and proper she already was, what did that say about the rest of everyone? And how _good_ could a terrified Hylotl be, pacing and mumbling to herself while writing down barely coherent phrases?

Savage then noted Candela, who was fiddling with the S.A.I.L. controls. He arguably had done nothing wrong in his comparatively short life, judging from the very little that Savage knew about him. However, he piloted a broken-down, unlicensed ship out in the middle of nowhere, dodging bureaucracy and the authority as much as he could. And as inexperienced as he was, he managed to survive for years out in the wastes. No one could do that without stealing and getting their hands more than a little dirty with bribes and extortion.

Sure, it was for survival. But some things just weren't worth it. Savage's continued existence was proof of that.

So was Nikolee's.

Not much could be said about her existence. They'd dwelled too many nights on the circumstances of Nikolee's survival.

"Face it, Deadbeat," Medotha hissed, breaking Savage out of their stupor. "This is not our battle to fight."

Savage paused. "...I know," they finally relented.

"Uh… everyone?" Candela's voice called out weakly from the S.A.I.L panel.

"We can still find a better job nearby," Raiko suggested. "Then again, it is not likely. This is the middle of nowhere."

"I know."

"And besides," Nikolee added. "I doubt you'd be able to find any decent jobs out there, the way this little expedition went."

" _I know!"_

Savage froze, suddenly realizing that they had raised their voice.

The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees. Savage's vision faded.

"Are… are you all right, Savage?"

A small presence approached Savage. Once they got their vision stabilized again, they noticed Raiko, hand on their shoulder, an expression of concern in her eyes.

" _Relax_." she whispered.

Savage suddenly realized that their hands were balled into tight fists. They relaxed, the pseudoleather of their gloves creaking.

"I…" Savage took a step back and looked around. Everyone was stood up in an almost bizarre tableau. Chips and Medotha were half out of their seats, their expressions nearly blank, crouching into quick fighters' stances. Medotha's hand was reaching behind her back. On the other side of the room, Candela had his hands up, not necessarily frightened, but more wary. Savage noted that their hand was inches away from the S.A.I.L. control panel, close to the cockpit door. They looked like they wanted to say something, but was cut off by something akin to an explosion.

Savage suddenly felt a bit ill and very stupid.

"I'm… relaxing. Relaxing." Savage's shoulders slumped forward and let out a sigh. "Don't even know why I said that. Raiko, you all right?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Raiko said in a hushed tone. She let go of Savage tad too hurriedly, averting her gaze. "It's okay, don't apologize," she continued, as Savage opened their mouth to speak. "It is _perfectly fine_ , not a problem."

"But I just let loose. Not okay." Savage started compulsively dusting off their sleeves.

"It is okay, look, we have something very important to discuss with, so if you could take a seat and calm down-" Raiko's head seemed to dart left and right.

"No, no, it's okay, I'm calm, what is it?" Savage tried to ignore Nikolee snickering from behind him.

"I have something very important to say, everyone," Candela called out even louder, drowning out Savage, Nikolee, and Raiko. "So if you're done being completely insane, Savage, does anyone want to know how much fuel we have?"

Medotha relaxed her stance a little, her hand emerging from behind her back. She turned her gaze towards Candela, dark eyes narrowing. "How much, human?"

"Almost none."

" _What?!_ " Raiko jumped to attention, all three of her eyes widening. Chips blinked, gesturing towards Candela to explain, incredulity painted on his face.

Savage blinked themselves out of their stupor. "That's… that's not supposed to be possible." Then it hit them. "Damn. Silverscreen didn't pay our fuel supplies either."

While the air purifiers and lighting all ran on solar and battery power, the ship's boosters and FTL drives ran on Erchius fuel. No fuel, no moving to another star system. They were essentially trapped where they were, orbiting a planet in the middle of nowhere.

"What do we do now?!" Raiko started wringing her hands and pacing about the room.

"Find that scrap pile and demand our supplies, of course." Medotha growled, every word undercut with a sinister hiss. She seemed more than ready to get out and hunt down some machines.

"But _how?!_ We can't get a line to him!"

"There is one line," Savage said. They put a hand to their chin, staring off into the distance and mulling over the consequences and possibilities of their next course of action. "Not necessarily a communications line, but we could get to him through his team."

"Team…?" Raiko stopped in her tracks. "His team?"

"The team down in the flesh caverns. The Raiju team. Sound familiar?"

Raiko's eyes widened in realization. "Oh-"

Savage continued, feeling excitement flush up their face. "We can follow them to Silverscreen. Or at least get some information out of them. Shouldn't take more than a few hours. Then we can chew on a little data and possibly pin down where he's hiding."

"But… they could be there in only a few hours away." Candela had turned back to the S.A.I.L interface, but already sounded excited and apprehensive.

"Exactly. Not much time to wait. Anyone have any objections?"

"Any of you object, and I will kill you," Candela growled, still peppering the S.A.I.L interface with their gloved fingers. "My ship needs food, for heaven's sake."

Chips shrugged, and stood up. Their blue chair let out a squeak of protest as he did. He gave Savage one look, and nodded.

Medotha seemed more than ready to get on the case, her black neonmelon-seed eyes glinting with the promise of mischief. "Ready whenever."

"Raiko, you're going with them. Don't try to worm your way out of this one," Candela scolded. Raiko let out a little whining noise, but wrapped her arms around herself, sighed, and nodded.

Candela all but rolled their eyes. "Don't worry, I'll get the mops and buckets ready. Though no more hot showers for this fortnight. You're all being deployed in 45 minutes."

Savage could feel a tiny surge of adrenaline pump through their veins. "Ready in 40."


	3. Chapter 3 - Trouble in Threes

**This was hard to write! -Author**

* * *

The crew teleported down to the red surface of the planet as dusk started to block out the horizon.

Savage and the rest stood at the top of a canyon overlooking a vast plain. The canyon was dusty, the grains of sand collecting on their clothes as the crew trudged along. It reminded Savage of dry, scorched Geiga. The same planet that had gone to hell in some explosion. The very feeling of crunchy stone under their boots, and the dry, whispering, dusty air caused a pang of homesickness and disgust.

The plains beyond the sand were coated in flesh, ranging from off-white streaks of fat to dark red, crawling with veins and arteries as thick as tree trunks. Pools of fluids ranging from acid green to blood red peppered the landscape, the largest being as wide as the main room of _The Rust Frigate_. Though the sky waxed dark, the last vestiges of light chased away by the horizon, the experience was marred by the smell of blood and raw meat.

The plan was simple. They would look for Silverscreen's team, set up a tracking device, and capture any nanite signatures whenever anyone beamed to or from their ship. Given the ship's coordinates and signature, they could either follow it from the _Rust Frigate_ , or if things went sour, hack in and directly teleport onto the Raiju ship. Earlier, Nikolee had dismissed it as a bad idea, and it took much of Savage's willpower not to punch her in the face at the time.

Of course, that would be the case if things couldn't be resolved peacefully.

Good thing she stayed back at the ship.

* * *

The crew quickly found the cavern they had entered through, a gaping maw that smelled of mucus and blood sausage. Inside was a main path, already coated in translucent flesh that reached deeper into the crust of the planet. Numerous other pathways ranging from little tunnels as wide as a finger to crawlspaces big enough for Chips to fit in branched out of the main path. Every once in a while, the crew came across a passageway that smelled of sour gastric juices, or one that was entirely covered in empty blood vessels, laying flat and empty. More than once, Chips had to physically restrain Medotha from wandering into an "interesting" passageway.

The first few hours into the main path, they were only greeted by occasional pulsations of the walls and the _drip, drip_ of strange fluids secreted by the ceiling. At one point, Savage found the area where they had fallen into the slime pit, and tried to set that memory aside.

Deeper into the cavern, the flesh became more and more riddled with muscle rather than translucent gel. Thick ropes of ligaments and tendons stuck out from the ground and hung from the ceiling, some of them as thick as Chips's arm. The smell of raw blood and the feeling of body heat intensified.

"Something's… off." Savage muttered. "No fleshlings anywhere."

"I think that… Silverscreen's crew is already deep inside." Raiko continued forward, her eyes narrowed in thought.

Chips quickened his pace. Everyone followed suit.

* * *

They stopped in the middle of a cavern leading to another large, dimly lit chamber. He ducked aside, taking cover between a thick grove of flesh strands. Half a second later, Medotha followed suit and crouched in a heavily shadowed corner of the passageway. Raiko backed away silently into the tunnel, standing behind even Medotha. Savage immediately saw why, and took cover behind Chips.

Savage, Chips, and everyone else faced a large cavern dimly lit by some otherworldly reddish light, from which hundreds of openings branched out. Hundreds of tunnels led out of the main chamber, passageways littering the walls and ceiling. They were anywhere from the size of a storm grate to vast chambers as wide as a boulder. The entire place gave off the impression of an unbeating heart, but with major arteries sticking out where they didn't belong. The largest was a hole in the middle of the roof, from where cavernous noises echoed.

The floor sank downward, giving the impression of an empty pit. In the middle of the cavern sat a strange machine . From this distance, it seemed as tall as Chips, but Savage knew from experience that everything distant was way larger than anyone expected. It seemed to be composed mainly of impervium panels in the shape of a giant diamond. In the middle was a rough, reddish crystal, which seemed ill-fitted for the recess in the middle. Its edges did not quite match the diamond-shaped recess, possibly cut from its parent stone with some crude tool. It didn't match anything that Savage had ever scavenged, or built.

At the foot of the towering machine were two figures shadowed against the reflective metal. They wore orange goggles that barely stood out from the red surroundings. One of them glanced away from the other for a moment, and Savage noted that they had a trinocular model on.

Medotha made a strange gesture to Chips, who responded equally silently. Chips turned to Savage, their eyes glinting, and Savage shrugged in exasperation. _The hell are you trying to tell me?_

One of the figures took out a flashlight. A circle of blue light suddenly appeared on the glistening floor. It scoped the area, pausing here and there. The light shifted onto the bundle of muscle fibers where Chips was taking cover, as well as the shapeless mound where Raiko crouched.

Everyone froze. Savage could hear their blood pounding in their ears, their breath almost halted in silence.

"Is someone there?" The cloaked figure with the binocular goggles asked in a wary baritone. Savage wondered if they were human, or at least had some in them, but stayed silent.

Only the faint dripping of the ceiling echoed back at the strangers. Even Savage knew better than to simply respond; what if they opened fire? What if they were forewarned that someone was going to track them down? Savage bit their tongue and mentally shook themselves. No use spacing out at a time like this.

From the other side of the cavern, Raiko pulled out a roughly-constructed beam tracker. Savage themselves had cobbled it out of spare parts and the remnants of a broken ship's communications array. The gray box was used to detect plasma or nanite signals from ships that used teleportation tech. However, it had gotten in more than one bad scrape, hence the strips of duct tape that held it together. Plus, it wasn't the most subtle of things, as Savage didn't have enough high-tech cloaking parts to shield the signal. As dangerous as giving away their position was, the beam tracker was the best thing they had. And hopefully, not every mercenary or Raiju-sponsored team out there was too focused on keeping their own bug scanners alive.

The seconds passed. The beam of blue light wavered, and quietly slid away.

"Just the wind, perhaps," the individual wearing the binocular goggles mused. "If you're done up there, Haku, we can beam up in sixty-two seconds. Sixty one."

Raiko pressed the button with the faintest _click_.

"Sixty…"

The tracker would need at least a few minutes within the beam site to process any signals.

"Fifty-nine."

Savage felt a cool breeze pass by.

"Fifty-eight…"

Raiko made a choking sound. Savage whirled around, tearing their sight from Binoculars.

Raiko was pinned to the ground by a hooded, cloaked figure. They were dressed in only dark clothes, from the cloak down to the soles of their boots. They also seemed shorter than the other two figures standing next to the giant statue

The beam tracker lay a foot away, its screen flickering.

Savage lunged for the tracker on the ground. An energy blast knocked it aside, missing Savage by mere inches. Savage looked up at figure by the statue. The individual by the statue, Binoculars, had a gun out, firing shots that sank into the cavern. The hood had come off, and Savage noted that the man was completely bald and light-skinned, but black lines crept around his neck and threatened to encase his head. The acrid odor of melted plastic and scorched meat filled the air.

Weapons were drawn. Medotha's swords were half-out of their sheath as she lowered her body, ready to charge. Savage could hear the clink of Chips's rifle behind them as they reached for the bundle of explosives at their belt. The important thing here, they thought, was the tracker. If they could just get it, Candela could teleport everyone back and the ship could warp away before anyone could follow.

Savage rolled to the side as Chips fired off three shots. Savage didn't check if they had missed, sticking close to the ground, crawling towards the tracker, half-closing their eyes in frustrated focus. Three ice-blue blasts hit the bundles of stringy flesh.

Savage looked up. The strings of flesh were frozen solid.

Medotha leapt over Savage. Dashing towards Raiko, she leapt atop the flesh mound and shrieked. Medotha aimed a heel at the cloaked figure's temple. Cloak leapt away, and Medotha only very barely managed to keep herself from crushing Raiko.

"The… tracker!" Raiko coughed out, her voice still cracked.

Another flash of blue light, and Cloak disappeared. Medotha too dashed off, but was deterred by a spray of fire by Binoculars. Savage felt a chill up their spine and scanned the surroundings, sweat moistening their brow. The tracker still lay on the ground. Savage didn't dare make a lunge for the tracker; Cloak could be waiting to ambush them.

Another volley of energy bursts flickered against the walls and left dark scorch marks on the flesh. The entire cavern groaned, the ground shaking as Binoculars fired away. Savage closed their eyes even further, blocking out the flashes and bolts. Out of the corner of their half-shut eyes, they spotted Chips, firing away methodically, not a smudge of emotion on his beaked face.

The tracker was abruptly knocked away by a shadowy kick. Before they could react, Savage was trapped in a headlock. Cloak had somehow snuck around everyone and caught Savage while they were being fired at.

"Don't move," Cloak hissed. Their voice had a slight rasp and echo to it, though he seemed quite young. However, there was an odd quality to it, as if two people were saying the same thing, but at different speeds.

"Easy for you to say," Savage choked.

There was a click of a steel knife from below.

"We're not here to hurt you," Savage rasped. "Here to find someone else."

Cloak tutted. "You know too much."

A deafening _crash_ echoed before Cloak could dig the knife into Savage's neck. Ice shards spun and glittered through the air as the frozen bundles of flesh shattered from an energy impact, embedding themselves into the flesh walls. Savage shielded their eyes as shards of ice as heavy as stone rained down.

Savage grabbed the assailant's knife arm, and slammed the blade into the moist floor. They had expected at least a sputter from Cloak, but got nothing as they wriggled out of the way. Savage spotted the tracker again, still lying on the ground. They swiped it up in a frantic scramble and made a break for it towards Chips, aiming his rifle for another shot . Another blast, Savage ducked, and there was a beastly growl from within the cavern.

Medotha rushed past, already holding her blades, teeth bared in a snarl that came dangerously close to a grin. Savage only had a split second close to the ground to see Medotha dash towards Binoculars, who was still holding his rifle, preparing for another shot-

Cloak had finally got up, holding their knife. Their cloak was slightly tattered and glittering with bits of ice. Savage stood with the tracker in their hands, not daring to move any further, blinking rapidly.

There was a flash of blue light, blinding Savage. Cloak warped, closing the distance to a foot away from Savage's nose, They slashed with their dagger and Savage darted back, still holding the tracker, trying to keep their eyes on Cloak. No matter how they angled their head, Cloak seemed to have no facial features underneath. Not a face, not a pair of eyes, simply shadow. Savage felt another chill up their spine, but a sense of morbid curiosity. They tightened their grip on the tracker and glanced at it.

The display on the tracker was slightly obscured by an impact; More than a fourth of the screen had faded to white pixels. Only the first few numbers of the Raiju ship's signature were visible. Before Savage could commit those numbers to memory, they took another step back, dodging another quick swipe from Cloak. They seemed perfectly stanced, but a hood like that couldn't stay up forever...

Savage took a moment to look past Cloak's shoulder. Medotha overpowered Binoculars, thrusting her swords into his shoulder and knee. Binoculars grimaced, almost choking- there was a sudden blue flash of light, and he was gone. Medotha looked around in surprise, but Savage knew exactly what had happened.

Only the lucky ones got to teleport when they were injured enough. Terrene Protectorate, Letheia Corporation… the big names had instant teleporters installed on their transport and executive ships. These teleporters were powered by advanced S.A. that immediately cloned their passengers if they got incapacitated on the field. The cloning process would regrow any limbs and seamlessly stitch up almost any injury, even those that left gaping holes in the body. The new body would even have the original body's memories and consciousness. Only the truly destructive injuries, the kind that embedded themselves deep and crushed tissue and organs could possibly get through automated teleportation.

Savage and the crew, using an outdated, unlicensed ship, didn't have that kind of luxury.

If they got injured, any scars were there to stay.

Savage swiped on their communicator with their free left hand. "Candela? Candela. Need to go," Savage called out, turning their back towards the tunnel wall, vision looking left and right. They took another step back, Cloak still advancing on them.

The sound of rushing wind rustled the hairs on the back of Savage's neck. The Hylotl wearing the trinocular goggles dropped down on Medotha. The Floran managed to dodge out of the way in time, only to have her right shoulder clipped by an open palm.

Medotha staggered. One of her blades clattered from a limp arm. Trinoculars closed in, and kicked Medotha's remaining blade aside-

Savage saw movement to the left. They suddenly dashed away as Cloak was once again in pursuit, but from the left.

Suddenly, Cloak's legs were whipped out from underneath them. Raiko had a pole out in both her slim hands. The pole held weights on either end. Cloak took a second to take the fall, roll, and disarm Raiko.

Savage rushed towards Cloak and yanked the hood off with one hand.

Cloak whipped around in outrage.

It was a sight that Savage would see often, a sight that burned in their memories for a very long time.

Cloak was a human male. Their flesh was covered in shallow cuts and impact wounds, watery blood leaking from their forehead. An ice shard pierced the eyebrow above a cat-brown right eye, staring in outrage back at Savage for a split second.

The entire right half of their face was wrapped in torn bandages soaked in yellow fluid. Through the tear, Savage saw bright, glowing yellow skin, and no eye. A bent metal wire formed into a brand shaped into a stuck out from their nose, extending into the glowing yellow half of their face.

Savage staggered back. Their gut writhed, their breath caught.

Cloak clicked their tongue, and swiped at Savage. They ducked, and Cloak's knife cut through the flesh wall like a ship through water. The wall undulated, sending out a flood of foul-smelling pink liquid onto Savage's eyes. Slipping away from Cloak, Savage rolled aside, shutting their eyes, feeling the liquid burn.

"Candela? You there?" Savage called out, to no response.

A moment passed. Savage cracked their eyes open, pink slime still coating their eyelashes and dripping onto their cheeks. Cloak once again warped in a flash of blue, their outline burnt into Savage's eyeballs. Savage staggered to their feet, and stumbled. A presence tackled them to the ground. Cloak had their knife out again, and swiped at Savage, their cloak hood once again up. Savage only barely dodged the swipe, feeling a cold, uneasy feeling as the knife dug deep into the ground beside their ear.

"Stand down. Surrender your tracker." Cloak demanded.

"Maybe later." Savage took a step back, reaching for their pouch with their left hand. Why were they so focused on Savage's eyes?

Cloak withdrew their blade from the flesh with a wet squelch. "I will not tolerate cowardice in front of me."

"Don't understand that word, sorry." Savage could just see Nikolee sneering in his mind's eye. _Execution! Put more effort in execution! No one will fear you if you don't_ make _them!_

Cloak took another step forward. "I need nothing else. Drop the tracker."

Savage tossed the tracker aside. Cloak jolted away, their head turned towards the tracker. Without pausing, they took their free hand out just in time to throw the smoke bomb at the ground.

The corridor burst into thick, dark smoke. Savage crouched down and zigzagged their way out of the cloud. They could hear Cloak coughing, and then suddenly, taking in a deep breath.

Savage crouched down to pick up the tracker, wiping slime out from their eyes. They came in sight of Medotha.

Savage had never seen Medotha fight without her blades. She always said that she was useless without anything to stab with.

It looked like she had lied.

Medotha was beating Trinoculars down. With her elbows. Every once in a while, she would grab the Hylotl by the neck and slam her to the ground. Trinoculars would dodge here, feign a swipe there, but Medotha somehow seemed to always catch an arm, a leg, and whirl Trinoculars away, before striking her with force that would put anyone else out of commission.

Trinoculars made a mistake. She overstepped her punch, allowing Medotha to bend it the wrong way and slam her to the foot of the strange statue, all without Medotha's toothy grin-

It seemed too precise and practiced to be real.

"Savage!" Raiko's voice echoed from a mile away.

From out of nowhere, a cord emerged and closed itself around Savage's neck. Blue lights were pointing down into the cave, more figures in pressurized violium armor beaming down. Some of them went for Chips, who had emerged from the fading cloud and was staring at Medotha in what could have been disbelief, and attempted to confiscate his gun; he responded with a backfist. Twelve more strikes lashed out in response.

"C-c-" Savage struggled against the cord, feeling their head grow light.

Before Savage could choke out Candela's name, the crew diffused into beams of light. They were back in the air, soaring towards the sky...

The rope immediately seemed to dissipate as Savage and the rest rose into the air, the lights flooding their vision. Stars and wind whooshed by as they were sent at warp speed back to the Rust Frigate. Far, far away from the hundreds of violet helms and armors, away from Cloak's mutilated face...

* * *

Just as abruptly as the trip began, it ended. All four of them collapsed into the tiny teleporter, smelling of blood sausage, and in Medotha's case, clear fluid. Her right shoulder sported the Floran equivalent of a bruise; crushed outer tissue, soaked in clear fluid. She didn't have a grin on her face, just a blank look that fit better on someone else. Someone who didn't talk so much.

Savage coughed saliva out of their throat. There were still stars in their eyes and a ringing in their ears.

Raiko's pink chair was overturned. There was a thumping noise from the pilot's cockpit. They rose unevenly, eyeing the door warily, taking out a flash grenade.

"Everything all right, Candela?"

Candela's voice roared from inside, with the sound of a dull impact. Their voice was suddenly cut off by a dull thud. There were more voices inside.

The cockpit door opened. Savage prepared to pull a flash grenade, but the barrel of several guns pointed at them first.

A large, burly human stood in the doorway, their domed head shining in the halogen lights of the Rust Frigate. He was donned in the same violium-infused armor that the newcomers in the caverns wore, altered slightly to account for a slight paunch. Though standing stiffly and at attention, Savage noted that his beady right eye was beginning to swell and darken. A trickle of blood ran from the front of his lip. And he looked none too pleased.

About four other similarly-armored individuals crowded up the cockpit, all in violium helmets with tinted faces. One of them had Candela's arms pinned behind him. Candela's jaw was beginning to bruise over, and various cuts leaked red blood on his face. His upper lip was swollen. Blood stained the collar of his jacket.

Savage frowned at the newcomers. "Candela, what the h-"

"Stand down," the burly man rumbled in response.

Savage glanced at everyone behind themselves. Chips already had his weapons holstered, and had his hands in the air. Raiko was looking very uncomfortable, but her weapon was nowhere to be found. Medotha was… strangely silent.

"To hell with that," Savage growled.

"I am afraid you do not have a choice in the matter." The burly man glared, a blue glint flashing from one of his eyes as he did so. "You are to answer before the Raiju Corporation."

Savage dropped their stance, feeling their breath rush out. They gritted their teeth, glared, their limbs and brain failing to figure out what to do, how to get Candela away from these soldiers, how to kick them out-

All confidence seemed to drain from Raiko's voice in a single word. "What?"

Chips and Medotha remained silent and stony-faced, blades and guns clattering to the ground.

"What…? No, no, you can't do that… Don't take me away to… don't…" Candela started mumbling, struggling weakly against his captor. "I _can't_ leave here..."

From behind the burly man, a small, slim figure emerged. Nikolee, her eyes narrowed gently in intent, tilted her head at Savage.

"Oh yes, you will." She winked at Savage. "Bad ideas deserve to be punished."


	4. Chapter 4 - What Goes Unsaid

**I thought the combat chapters would be the hardest to write. I was wrong.  
The next few chapters will involve mostly conversation and little combat, so please bear with me.  
Also I'm losing my job in a few days.  
Happy holidays! -Claira  
**

* * *

Sometimes, there is no longer any need to resist. Savage was too familiar with the feeling.

No more resistance, not even when Candela lost his wits and let rage take over, not even when they sedated him with a syringe and tranquilizer. No resistance, when Medotha stared down a soldier without a word or a wisecrack. No resistance, only the brick wall of Nikolee's smile, echoing silently in their mind's eye.

Very few things are more brick-droppingly numbing than having the most avoidable of situations unfold.

The violium-clad Raiju soldiers led the crew into what more or less were holding cells, except the doors were made of brushed metal. There were no decorations on the walls. A single porthole peeked out into space, stars twinkling from beyond. Though there was essentially one way in and out, it still managed to look a bit polite, like a waiting room in a medical facility. A steel chair and a cot sat along the sides of the room. Both articles of furniture were bolted to the ground; possibly to keep them from being used as a battering implement. The steel door had a clear glass window, though Savage knew better than to assume that glass was breakable.

On one corner of the room, Raiko sat in the steel chair. Her head was bowed, and she was murmuring to herself, counting off her fingers, waving them ever so slightly every minute. When they got closer, they realized that Raiko was simply counting off prime numbers.

"Thirty-seven… forty one…"

Savage nudged Raiko's shoulder.

"Forty-three…" She looked up, her face blank. It was the kind of emptiness that belied a white halogen light. "Fifty-three…"

Savage shook their head in defeat. They sat on the cot and looked up at Nikolee. She stood in the middle of the room, smiling faintly at Savage. Her hands were shoved into her pockets, and she still looked . Savage wondered how she had entered the room so silently.

"The hell you want?" Savage grunted.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing," Nikolee sang. There was a hint of smug pride in her voice as her toes tapped the metal floor. "Have you been eating enough? Did you take those pills I gave you?"

"Those pills were starch pills mixed with preservatives." Savage turned away from Nikolee, dropping their feet onto the cot with a clang. "No nutritional value whatsoever. Get out."

"Savage?" Raiko looked up from her fingers. Her voice seemed slurred, as though she had lost years of speaking while she was staring at her own hands. "Is everything all right?"

Nikolee smiled. She sat down, gently smoothing out her heavy desert trousers. They were covered in a fine dusting of glittering sand. "I'm part of your crew. I should be here with you. I am as much Raiju's prisoner as you are."

"Not a chance. You sold us out."

"It was a tactical advantage on your end."

"Get out." Savage could feel their pulse rising.

"That's not very fair." Nikolee pouted and plopped herself onto the cot, albeit more quietly than Savage did. "You could give me at least a little credit for getting you on an even _better_ ship."

"Stop talking," Savage growled. The pseudoleather of their gloves creaked, still caked in dried fluids. "Traitor."

"And besides," Nikolee continued, her tone the same as that of a child suggesting that everyone could go out and catch some clouds for dessert. "Now that you're on this ship, why not steal it, or take it apart for materials?"

Savage didn't answer. Being a Raiju ship, Savage had no doubt that this place had more technology and materials that the Rust Frigate could never hope for. Cloaking, a properly-working shield generator, communications that stayed on for hours on end… the possibilities were endless. All Savage needed was to get out, and maybe scavenge a few tools from their captors, and yet…

"Ever heard of the phrase "making things worse?" Savage snapped. "It's exactly what's going to happen. Make things worse."

"High risk nets a high reward," Nikolee sang, as though she had said this a million times before.

"Can't afford to add high larceny to our list of petty crimes. Too risky."

"Savage…?" Raiko's voice rang out a little louder, though the tremble in her voice was also clearer.

"What?" Savage turned to Raiko. They probably looked a bit more angry than required, as Raiko flinched. Her three red eyes were widened in worry, staring straight at Savage.

"I need you…"

"..To listen to me"

Raiko's lips were off sync. She was saying something, but Savage suddenly couldn't tell.

"Once that door opens…"

"...You have to understand..."

Raiko's softer voice was overpowered by Nikolee's rasp, almost like sand covering a smooth, shimmering sheet of glass. Savage's vision started to blur as two voices collided with each other.

"You'll find the tools…"

"...not there."

Two voices?

"You take out the captain…"

" … try not to make a mess of things…"

"Tear out the console…"

They echoed. They filled the air. The two of them. Two?

"Are you listenining?"

"Are you listening at all…?"

"Listen for any suspicious sound…"

"There's no one there-"

"Stop it _."_

"Are you all right…?"

"It's going to be fine from then on…"

"Wake up..."

"Smell the sunshine."

"It's-"

" _Stop!"_ Savage stood up, breath coming out in heaves. The room felt warm, the ground swayed. " _Stop it now!"_

Raiko flinched.

Savage was on their feet, their heart pounding in their throat. The ship blurred, spinning, the air hotter than a stone desert. Raiko was saying something, her voice obscured by a haze, swimming behind Savage's eyeballs. Raiko sat outside of their vision.

"The hell you sold us out for?" Savage didn't even look at Nikolee.

"I - I don't- " Raiko stammered.

They could just see Nikolee tilting her head, behind him on the cot, making no other sound. "Tying up loose ends."

"So now _I'm_ the loose end?" Savage retorted. "Remember who did all the lying and, I don't know, the _actual destruction of an entire planet_? Am I the loose end here?"

"Savage," Raiko's voice, still unclear, called out. "Stop."

"It's your word against the entire star system's, Savage." Nikolee's voice suddenly grew weightier, a second spent on each word. "What kind of respectable being would believe a nobody like you?"

And just like that, Nikolee was right again.

She approached Savage, the ethereal smile gone from her face. Now a hardened wanderer stared down Savage's eyes. The scar from that one fall was still there on her face, stretched out as Nikolee's face contorted in exasperation. "These men and women are trained to protect their own interests. What makes you think they'll listen to a bunch of nobodies? Especially one who's essentially been taken prisoner? _Do you think they'll ever let you out of this ship alive_?"

"And whose fault is that?" Savage growled.

"Well," Nikolee's voice grew coy. "If you hadn't made that stupid plan and gone after Silverscreen's-"

Nikolee suddenly stopped. The stars beyond the porthole started to move, slowly.

"Ah…"

Savage didn't move. A whirring from the back end of the ship started up. The stars moved faster, the ship gaining speed. The artificial gravity minimized the shift in forces, but Savage could still feel a slight pull towards the back.

"Oh look, it's starting." Nikolee noted happily.

The whirring rose in pitch and intensity, until it suddenly peaked. A light flashed from outside, blocking out everything. The ship lurched forward through space, the drive to the back humming wildly, powering enough thrust to send a large asteroid flying. The light still burning colors in their eyes, Savage blinked the light trails away.

The stars beyond the porthole zipped by, leaving ant-trails against the void. Clouds of swirling gases in all colors, bright and dim clouds breaking up the passage of the stars. Savage stood for a moment, watching space go by.

"Are… are you all right?"

Savage looked aside. Raiko was still in the same closed position she was in when they first entered. Her hands were back on her lap.

"Think so…" Savage mumbled. "She's-"

They turned to glance at Nikolee, but the cot was empty. The door was ajar. The air felt cold and heavy as space zipped by outside.

Savage silently went over to the doorway and shut the brushed metal door. "She's gone."

There was a moment of silence before Raiko responded. "She… is."

* * *

Medotha walked swiftly through the posh metal-and-steel deal and plopped down onto the first flat, non-floor surface she could find. Which was some kind of bed. She exhaled. Normally, she would have resisted, but the armor they were clad in told her not to. Violium! She had only seen violium twice in her life. These Raiju guys must have tons of cash for the gambling.

The door opened. In walked Chips, minus guns. Seeing the tall Avian without a rifle on his back felt wrong, somehow, like a hot-air balloon without a basket. Or a table without legs.

"Welcome to the party," Medotha said airily, patting the bedspace next to her. "I saved you a seat."

"And she speaks." Chips shut the door behind him and leaned against it, folding his arms across his wide chest. He stared down at Medotha, a near-blank expression on his face.

"And _it_ speaks," Medotha hissed, a grin splitting her mouth wide. Chips's voice always seemed to be too deep for him every time he spoke. In some way, the near-complete lack of emotion in his voice suited him. "What's the occasion? Prison Shower Day?"

Without speaking, Chips looked pointedly all around, left, right, up, down, all cold steel panels and metal supports. Medotha rolled her eyes.

"Well, this _is_ a new thing." Medotha beat her fist down on the cot. "Steel. Pretty good for security. Maybe we can learn a thing or two from them."

"I was keeping an eye on you in the caverns." Chips's voice was dry. A tiny crease formed between his eyes. Medotha raised an eyebrow.

"That's _normal,_ you oaf." She tried to sound annoyed. "When in a fight, don't forget to keep an eye on everyone else-

"That's not it."

The air in the room turned ever so slightly colder. Medotha felt as though the steel cot beneath her could have frozen raw poultry. Chips usually kept to his own devices and let everyone else do their thing as long as he could do his job. Having to answer questions from him felt... wrong, somehow. Medotha didn't respond.

 _Straight face on._

"Where did you learn to fight unarmed?" Chips's implacable gaze bored into her own.

The Floran let out a breath. "You know, when you're out in space, you have to learn how to use these." She held out two green fists, half-wrapped in thin leather strips. The areas over the knuckles were slightly worn down and faded. Of course, down in the caverns, her hands have been properly bound to hold swords in a variety of grips, but she had stuffed some of the bindings down her boots before being escorted by the soldiers. She didn't want to have to get _those_ confiscated. Swords were everywhere. but good-quality, custom-made hand bindings were tough to come by.

"If you don't know how to fight, then you're dead." Medotha rolled her eyes. "You of all people should know-"

"A Floran _stabs_." Chips's round, golden eyes narrowed.

Medotha's breath caught in her throat, but only for a fraction of a second.

 _Smile more._

"Floran congregations _hunt_. For that, they need weapons." Chips's glare sharpened out into a fine point. "They do not fight with fists. Fists are for their tribe's seedlings. Fists are _for children_. Fists alone cannot burst chitin, or hide. "

"Challenge accepted." Medotha let her teeth show again in response. "Bring me a Poptop and I'll tear it apart with my bare hands."

Chips didn't respond. His glare simply deepened.

"I never knew you were that into stereotyping," Medotha sniffed. "Not _every_ Floran is a meat-hunting degenerate. We can learn to punch sentient races too."

"Furthermore," Chips continued, letting Medotha's last statement float out into the air. "That fighting style is a human art."

Medotha let out another exasperated sigh. "Again with the stereotyping-"

"Hand-to-hand combat of that caliber is only taught to soldiers. USCM, most often."

Medotha heard something start to tick in her brain. The USCM. The human colonists. They claimed to be working for the glory of the human race, but they possibly were the biggest joke on the universe. All these guns and cannons, and they couldn't hold a candle to the Apex Miniknog. Just a few months of contact with the Miniknog were enough to tear them to shreds. Possibly no one knew more about those terrorists than... _Stay focused. Keep your guard up. Smile more._

"What would a Floran be doing with a working knowledge of human military combat?" Chips asked in a flat voice, his eyes narrowed to slits. "Moreover, the USCM had been destroyed years ago. They most likely took all prisoners with them. What are you to them? How are you still alive?"

The Floran sighed in defeat.

"It's… a long story."

Chips nodded. "I see. Abbreviate then."

"It's not that simple."

"Then condense."

Medotha let her shoulders slump. She bent forward in defeat, closed her eyes, and paused. She let her breathing slow, as though she was trying to remember something from the distant past. _The same old story_ then, Medotha thought. _Everyone knows and loves this story._

After a full minute of silence

"Well… here is a story. A story about some Floran sapling, living it out in the middle of nowhere, hunting, fighting, Training _with weapons._ " Medotha took a moment to glance at Chips. He seemed thoroughly focused, his eyes still narrowed to slits. "Crude spears mostly. I didn't really know much. None of us really needed to know anything. It was a simple time, if a bit boring."

"And the USCM? Damn them. They came down in their battle cruiser. We just thought it was a bird in flight, so we all threw spears at it. You can imagine our surprise when they bounced off. It landed nearby, and the humans came out." Medotha let out a shudder. "Hundreds of humans slaughtered us. The cannons on their ship burnt my village to a crisp. We were turned into a bonfire. I remember the smell of burning wood like it was yesterday. Soon, I was the only one left."

Medotha took a moment to glance at Chips. He was shaking his head, eyes closed. Medotha thought she saw a smile on the corners of his beak.

"I was trapped in the hunting grounds. There were USCM soldiers everywhere, chasing me and my tribe down with guns. And behind them... I saw."

Medotha looked up at Chips, an expression of desperation on her face. Chips simply looked back at her, his face once again neutral.

"I saw the big brown USCM soldier, beating up my Greenfinger. He only used his fists. It was so weird to see it for the first time. No need to ssstab. No need for weapons."

Medotha let the corners of her toothy mouth stretch out in a grin.

"I turned their technique against them. I had to watch them beat my Greenfinger to a pulp, and then I came out of hiding. I fought back. Four armed humans, half dead on the ground. And more to come. So many more humans." She made a slurping sound, almost like a hiss. "It was… exhilarating. Fighting without a weapon."

"Medotha," Chips said.

She looked up at Chips, grinning toothily.

"That's enough." Chips paused. "You are a terrible liar."

 _... Crap._

"What?! I opened up to you with my childhood where soldiers slaughtered my tribe and I fought back. Don't you have a shred of sympathy?"

Chips shook his head. "One. Fighting styles take years to master. One does not find the ability to master a fighting style and overpower a foe from one day of trauma. And one would need to maintain their form to remain at that level of skill."

Medotha tried to keep her face neutral. _Better revise that bit then…_

"Two. Battle cruisers do not land and attack. A ship's cannon and turrets are useless on planetary gravity. They are primarily meant for space warfare. That battle cruiser would have hovered in space and beamed down troops. If you had gone with that narrative, you would have just said it was a generic "

 _Dammit,_ Medotha thought. _It_ _looked cool enough in people's heads._

"Three. It is highly unlikely for one untrained Floran child to survive a USCM attack. The USCM existed to destroy colonies that fought back. Your tribe was one of them. Why leave a vengeful child alone? Why not simply shoot her with the many guns you mentioned? Why allow her to humiliate the human race?"

"Because of… pity?"

Chips shook his head. "Pity is trained out of a soldier. Moreso out of the USCM."

"Hang on, how do you know so much about this?" Medotha asked.

"Fourth." Chips held out a hand, forcing Medotha's question back down her throat. "Finally, a child simply does not have the mass for holds and grabs. Maybe for kicks, but you would not have been able to fight off armored USCM soldiers with fists alone. And we all saw you grapple that Hylotl. With purpose, no doubt."

"What if I said...I had a knife back then?" _Smile more. Show them your teeth_.

"Don't push it. You're already on thin ice."

Medotha sighed again. "So all you're saying is that, I'm full of root weevils."

Chips simply responded with a blank stare.

"Heh, all right, damn, you got me, congratulations, wow."

 _There goes that story, out the window. Whoosh_.

Chips said nothing, but continued to stare blankly at Medotha. His arms were still crossed.

"What, you want a prize for your brilliant detective work?" If there were something to throw, Medotha would have pelted Chips's face with it. "I have to be impressed. Most idiots just let that story slide because it sounds cool."

Chips shook his head. "The fact that you call those you've lied to 'idiots' speaks volumes."

"Then what about the people who don't say anything at all?" Medotha felt her hands curl up into fists. "You know, you haven't said anything about yourself either. We barely know anything about you. It's one thing to make a white lie about where you're from, but another thing to shut up about your origins and hope that no one notices."

Chips tilted his head. "The crow calls the raven black."

"Well, the raven doesn't need to be splashed with bleach to know that the crow's blacker than a tar pool. Who do you even think you are?" Medotha glared. "What makes you think you get to poke through my mind while you keep quiet? Hypocrite."

Chips's chest and shoulders puffed. "It does not matter what I choose not to say."

"Why not? What was the point of picking out my fake-ass backstory then?"

"You… are inconsistent. Brash. Uncontrollable. An element like you could jeopardize our chances of survival."

"Very funny, Chips." Medotha could feel the growls creeping into her word again. What does that say about you then? You think you're better than us?"

"I am the most capable on the ship, according to Candela, who is the owner of the ship." Chips's tone switched to matter-of-fact as he enumerated. "I am trained in piloting three classes of aircraft and have been educated in both firearms and melee combat. In the moment that Candela is unable to make a decision, I am the voice of authority. As pompous as it may sound, I am too tactically valuable. You…" Chips tilted his head the other way. "Are not."

The stars beyond the sole porthole started shifting. There was shouting from the next room.

"Oh, shut up. You think you're just valuable because you can swing a gun around tell people what to do!"

"It has saved Candela's life numerous times." Chips responded again in a flat voice.

"Honestly, I don't even know why Candela keeps you around." Medotha glared at Chips. "You're an absolute pain when you open your beak, you know that?"

The warp drive of the ship whirred to life. The stars began to pick up speed, flying across the porthole. Chips said nothing, arms crossed, a glare again barely perceptible on his face.

"Say something, you rotten feathercrown," Medotha growled.

No response. Chips closed his eyes and leaned back on the door, arms crossed.

Medotha slammed her fist onto the cot. "I said _say something_."

"It does not matter what I choose not to say."

The warp drive peaked. A flash of white light emerged from outside, bathing everything in blinding white light that faded as soon as it came. The stars streaked by like dazzling meteors, colors and clouds rushing by, noisier and more lively than Chips's voice ever was.

"You'd better run, feathercrown." Medotha's fingers dug into the frame of the bed. "Someday, _I will get you._ "

Chips simply continued leaning against the door, arms crossed, completely unruffled.

"Try me," he whispered.


	5. Chapter 5 - The Eye Of The Storm

**I've installed the Frackin' Universe mod, so I hope it doesn't affect my adherence to the vanilla universe. Not that I strictly followed the vanilla universe anyway.**  
 **Also the layout sometimes makes me feel that my paragraphs are too short.**

 **Oh and thanks to RtstTurtle for pointing out minor errors and to ChocolateTeapot for leaving reviews!**

 **-C**

* * *

 _"You don't talk much, do you?"_

 _Candela shook his head, messy red hair following his head like a stiff wig. He faced the ship's control panel from the captain's seat the ship's course towards a destination less than a jump away. "I mean, do you even have a functioning voice box?"_

 _The massive Avian didn't respond, but stared stonily ahead._

 _"Oh, of course you do, someone like you wouldn't lie on your application form," the human sniffed. "Obviously."_

 _Again, no response, only the barest of irritated glances._

 _"I see. You're playing the quiet type, are you?" Candela chuckled and fiddled with a few buttons on the ship's console. "No one really does that anymore. We humans like pretending to be other people, but there really isn't any need to look cool." He tapped his fingers on the dashboard as a barely audible hum played out. "That trope died out years ago. Now all our movies have talkers and walkers. Some of them even shout out their names. Something like… you're not listening, are you?" Candela turned around and leaned on the console, arms folded and a quizzical look on his face. "It's okay. Those cartoons were a mistake."_

 _Chips let out a sound that almost sounded like a cluck._

 _"Oh. A voicebox. Do you even speak any words?"_

 _"Only when necessary." The Avian's voice rumbled from deep within his barrel chest._

 _"Well, guess we're not going to be talking about much from here on out." Candela shrugged. "That's okay, I guess. It's not like we're supposed to put on faces or anything where we're going."_

* * *

The FTL drive is an oddly named mechanism. It can transport entire ships across star systems within a few seconds. While warping, the insides of a ship are virtually untouched. The cheaper FTL models may have any inhabitants of a ship feel a little backward pull, but the top-of-the-top models account for forces and artificial gravity so that nothing gets toppled over.

The FTL drive, however, is not always capable of sending passengers from Point A to Point B at the speed of light.

Savage assumed that the crew of _The Rust Frigate_ was simply being transported to a nearby star system in a single jump. However, after the first 5 minutes, they simply dropped the idea. Their destination seemed so far away that the ship idled more than once. The voices outside, presumably of more guards, muttered about refueling every jump; the FTL drive just took so much fuel per hop. Then the drives would power up and fly off, until it slowed down for refueling again. Though there were so many stops, they never landed at any outpost, nor did they seem to contact other ships.

Most of the ride was spent in relative silence. Raiko was still counting off prime numbers and had reached into the hundreds. Savage sat on the cot with their back to Raiko, looking up at the porthole. Nikolee hadn't returned after the first jump. She was probably discussing whatever payment she got from Raiju for the information. The very thought of her smug face made Savage want to kick a chair aside, were the furniture not bolted to the flooring. Though why exactly Raiju would bring four other people in alive remained to be seen.

The ship slowed down for one more time. Savage awaited the minute or so for refueling before the turbines and FTL drive fired up again. However, instead of the whir of engines, there was a knock at the door.

There was a prickling at the back of their head; soldiers and mercenaries were never this polite. Politeness was usually just a show; those who actively participated in it were too soft and polite for most unsavory jobs and just ended up with cheap labor and transportation.

"Who is it?" Raiko asked after an uncertain pause.

"We have reached our destination. Come with us." A woman's deep voice spoke from beyond the door.

For a moment, Savage's thoughts drifted towards Nikolee's words.

Do you think they'll let you off this ship alive?

They glanced at Raiko in silence. She glanced between Savage and the door with panic written on her face.

"There were more knocks on the door. "You have fifteen seconds before I will open this door. It's unlocked, you know. The lock's broken."

"All right, all right!" Savage roared. They stormed over to the door and opened it more roughly than was necessary. The metal door hit the wall with a dull thud. Raiko squeaked. "Couldn't have just opened it yourselves, could you?!"

"Sir... Ma'am… Visitor. Please control yourselves. You are not in any immediate danger." The speaker was another violium-clad guard, a stout Apex with dark hair tied in a tight bun. Purple shadows sagged beneath her dark eyes.

"Like hell we are!" Savage snapped. "You come and kidnap us in-"

"Savage, shhhh." Raiko approached Savage from behind and put both her hands on their shoulders. Even through the heavy travel fabrics, her hands felt a little cold. "Apologies for my friend, he is stressed out, I think. I cannot explain right now." Raiko let go of Savage's shoulders and held out her arms, ready for magnetic cuffs. "I am ready to be detained, madam. Please cuff me first that my friend may remember how this works."

The guard looked uncomfortable. "Ma'am?"

"I understand that this is not the usual mode of operation for you," Raiko babbled on, "but I have been detained before, and I find that it is easier to cooperate with the authorities rather than cause trouble." She spoke the last clause with some more effort and inflection as if she were pointing to an obvious sign and saying _listen here_.

The guard simply glanced between Raiko and Savage with bewilderment. Savage probably would have felt sorry for them on a different planet.

"We were instructed not to cuff you. Though we will use force to keep you from causing any harm or injuring our personnel."

"I assure you, I have been detained many times in my line of work, and I know that prison and interrogation facilities are different across many people, but I must request that you and your personnel do not- Wait, come again?" Raiko's arms fell to her side.

The Apex sighed in defeat. "We are not detaining you, ma'am."

"That's… not the impression we got…" Savage's voice trailed off.

The guard shrugged, then suddenly looked around as though someone could have seen. "Just… don't tell anyone, but I haven't slept in 48 hours. Just cooperate, for me, please? Just… come with me. Quietly. And try not to break anything."

"This is very awkward," Raiko commented.

"I know." The guard looked desperate.

Behind the Apex guard, two more guards walked by, Medotha and Chips in tow. Both of the guards had their helmets on.

"Just listen to the poor guy," Medotha hissed as she passed. Her arms were uncuffed, as were Chips's. Neither of them seemed too happy, probably because neither of them had spent this much time without their weapons.

"But can we have confirmation that once we step off this ship, you are not going to turn on us and torture us for information?" Raiko asked.

"What?" The guard looked even more dumbfounded. "I have no idea. I just work here."

From down the ship's corridor, Medotha's voice called out. "Just do it, you spastic Poptops."

* * *

Raiju's semi-legal operations seemed to have paid very well.

The Raiju headquarters seemed to be situated within a luminous oasis. The entire compound was constructed so that the windows faced a central courtyard. The outside of the windows showed only dark skies, with only a faint aura of light from the horizon. Pools of glowing water shimmered in fountains outside, weaving through cobblestone paths and plants in strange, arcing designs.

Outside of the courtyard, only a few glowing pools of water remained. Beyond the parched puddles was an endless expanse of sand and rock. Savage shuddered, almost imagining vast ruins of unknown machinery, piles upon piles of garbage and wires and waste left over from a long-lost civilization.

Though it seemed early in the day, there were already people up and about. Guards in high-tech armor in shades of violet and teal walked along in twos along the polished metal and tile corridors. Savage noticed that their armor seemed more polished than their captors' by comparison. It was the difference a piece of dulled tungsten freshly dug out of the ground and the same ore polished to perfection.

Though their hands weren't bound, Savage felt a bit of foreboding as the violium-clad woman led them through corridors of steel and glass. It seemed that Raiju would have no problem simply erasing their existence. Then again, it would bring no little comfort to those they've conned in the past at the behest of an angry, paying customer with a score to settle.

Occasionally, a buzzing, winged insect would fly by, chased frantically by a harried-looking individual in a white coat. One of them accidentally rammed their shoulder into the violium-clad woman as they rushed past.

"Sorry, Vivi," the scientist panted, wiping sweat from their brow. "Low Breach in Research 5. We'll get them rounded up in no time." They clapped the back of the violium-clad woman's armor and rushed off, net in hand.

The guard shrugged wordlessly and continued leading Savage and Raiko through the hallways. They soon stood in front of a dark wooden door. It was covered in a complex abstract carving full of curves, loops, and leaves. Savage wondered why people would spend hundreds of hours making something so fancy. Or who.

They barely had any time to think about it when the doors swung open. Three individuals, a Floran in tribal clothing and two Glitches in grey jumpsuits walked out. The male Glitch was babbling to the two. "Exasperated. Two doors, and the locks weren't even engaged properly. Of course the jump knocked the locks clean. Furious, someone should get their behinds in shape… "

Vivi waited a full five seconds before leading Savage and Raiko in.

The inside of the room was a wide office carpeted in red. The walls were mostly bare, save for desk-sized pictures framed in plain, but elegant frames. A shiny wooden desk of darkened wood occupied the middle of the room, much lower than a table normally would have. Behind the desk sat a Hylotl woman.

Her hair was teased up in a high bun with nary a strand of hair out of place. She wore a sedate blue traditional robe with gold trim. Her three eyes were a slightly dulled shade of red, but they still blinked and looked as aware and alive as some of the fine Hylotl warriors depicted in paintings.

"Ah, the visitors." Her voice, though soft, seemed to carry throughout the room with a deep ring of authority. "Take a seat, please."

She gestured towards a set of cushions set out in a row before the low table. Raiko immediately took the one on the far left, sitting in a position Savage had seen her use several times on the ship, playing some sort of card game with Chips and Candela. Savage had attempted sitting in the same way, but it just made their feet stiff and numb. However, duty called, and hopefully it wouldn't be too long before everyone was done here.

Or maybe they wouldn't even leave alive, who knew.

The door opened again. Chips and Medotha walked in, accompanied by the same bloodied guard from earlier. His eye had already turned an unpleasant purple shade, though he had the foresight to clean the blood off his face. Candela may have never left his ship, but he apparently knew how to give someone a beating.

"Here they are, Madam."

"Thank you, Nils. You and Viktoria, please step out while we discuss."

The two guards bowed from the waist and departed. They shut the door behind them, the slam followed by several metallic clicks.

They never noticed the final person in the room until now: an individual leaning against the wall with a wide-brimmed hat covering their face. They wore a shiny brown leather jacket, probably made of actual Mooshi hide. They leaned against the wall, just next to the doorway. They had two guns holstered against their hip.

Guess they really weren't going to leave this room alive.

The Hylotl woman gestured towards the remaining two cushions. Chips's shadow engulfed the entire cushion, while Medotha simply slouched on the far right. The Hylotl at the low table gave her the merest of disparaging looks before resuming her position.

"Normally these sorts of meetings come with a cup of tea for each of the visitors, but I am afraid this is not the time." The Hylotl woman's gaze tightened. "I am Ane Ou, chairman of the Raiju conglomerate."

Savage tried to hide their surprise. The chairman of an entire interstellar conglomerate? There must have been a reason why the crew had to be here, personally. Perhaps they were to be the next victims of an extortion project. But extortion didn't require the full presence of the head; any old guard could just drop into the ship and demand payment. Besides, Nikolee could have done it herself. But for some reason, she was absent from the room.

There was no time to dwell on those thoughts. Savage awkwardly copied Raiko's bow. Medotha and Chips didn't bother.

"So… tell me why we still have our brains in our skulls. Madam. You probably " Medotha leaned back and placed her palms on the ground. Raiko gave her a withering glance; Chips flicked a finger next to her ear.

Ane Ou's face was unreadable. "Which one of you is the captain?" she asked.

"Ah… To answer that, we do not necessarily have a captain. Candela is not here with us, but he is the pilot and the owner of the ship. Chips here manages most combat and other administrative decision-making, so if there is anything that needs to be done, Chips is the most reliable staff member to contact."

Chips gave Ane Ou the barest of nods.

"Understood. You are here because we have something valuable to exchange," Ane Ou continued. "You have information, I have your pay."

"Just another day on the job?" Savage asked. "Better people to do that for you, honestly."

Raiko nudged Savage gently.

"Of course, we have all the personnel needed to fulfill various tasks for Raiju. However, you have a unique position in all this." Ane Ou's face suddenly looked as though she had tasted something vile. "To use common language, you have been cheated of your pay."

"By your man, no less," Savage grunted. "Silverscreen."

Ane Ou nodded. "While one of the few Glitch with true self-awareness, he has proven himself time and time again to be less than a trustworthy man. And today, he has broken an agreement within the Raiju corporation, and I want him stripped of his position. And what better people to help send a message other than those he had swindled?"

For the first time, the individual at the room made some sign of life. He glanced up for a moment and grunted. His arm twitched, as though reaching for his gun.

"Really? That's all you want us to do?" Medotha inquired. "Silverscreen is a twat, but seriously, this is a bit much. You don't need _us_ to fire some entry-level cash register."

Ane Ou nodded gravely. "While there are better ways of expressing that sentiment, indeed he is. And there's more, if you would allow me to continue." Ane Ou's gaze suddenly grew grave. "You have seen an individual down in the caverns of XT-335 who, frankly, no longer exists."

"Fat chance," Medotha sang. "I gave all of them a beating. Can't say they don't exist if they've met me and I've-"

"That is not the issue here," Ane Ou interrupted curtly, holding up a hand. "All records of this… thing have been erased."

"What are you talking about?" Medotha asked. "Those were Silverscreen's boys. Probably your boys as well-"

"Incorrect." Ane Ou shook her head. "Only two registered staff members were present at the cavern in question, and we have them on our roster. However, our guards' eyewitness reports show that there was a third individual there. Scans were inconclusive, and we had no active record of this individual."

"Guy in a cloak? Someone you know?" Savage leaned forward.

"You mean… that person with a knife?" Raiko looked up at Ane Ou. "I'm afraid I've not much to offer. I never saw what was under that hood."

"I've seen what's under the hood. You want that information?" Savage offered.

Ane Ou almost smiled. "Why don't we add that to our exchange agreement?"

"All right, let's talk." Savage shifted their stance and crossed their legs. "What's your offer?"

"The exchange is simple. As you have a personal stake in this matter, once you help in ironing out the knots in our chain of command, you get twice your pay from Silverscreen, including pixels and fuel, as well as various tools and materials of your choice amounting to no more than 7000 pixels. If you give us information on the individual you met down in the caverns, we will give you an additional 30,000 pixels as payment."

Medotha whistled next to Savage. 30,000 was much more than anyone had ever paid them. It possibly cost as much as _The Rust Frigate_ if Candela ever had the mind to sell it.

"And if we decline?" Savage asked.

"Then, nonetheless, we will repair your ship, give you a measure of fuel, and send you on your way. However, the amount will be only good enough for a single jump. After that, you will be on your own."

"And you're not going to tell us why you want that guy so badly."

"I am afraid that comes after the exchange."

"Pretty generous offer for a company well-known for extortion."

"Really, Savage?" Medotha hissed, rolling her eyes. "An offer better than the other month's pay, and that's _all_ you have to say? Way to butter the pay up."

"Well, _I'm_ not buying it." Savage growled. "Sounds too good to be true, even."

"What I said was a _claim_ , Savage." Raiko responded. "The resources didn't bring up any definitive proof that any extortion happened. Or any other criminal activities."

"Doesn't mean they were false," Savage muttered, folding their arms. Chips nodded in agreement.

"You have participated in less-than-legal activities beforehand, have you not?" Ane Ou asked.

"I do not see why this is any worse. I am merely asking you to look into the chain of command of my company and releasing information only you can give. Do you simply mistrust me simply because I am in a seat of power?"

"We've worked for less-known people. People who don't sit at the head of interstellar companies." Savage paused for a minute, glaring at Ane Ou. "It's safer that way."

"Ah…before we get too upset with each other perhaps we should confer with Candela," Raiko said, almost a little too quickly as if to clear the air. "As this is a task involving more than half the crew, we must ensure that this task is a lucrative enough-"

"We'll take it," Chips rumbled.

Savage started. Medotha nearly toppled off her cushion. "What?"

"It is a task, and it is lucrative. We'll take it." Chips's tone was flat, unwavering.

"Hold the hell up." Medotha stood up, hands balled up into fists. "You can't just call the shots while Candela is away. The pay is _amazing_ , but you know how he feels about safety-"

" In the moment that Candela is unable to make a decision, I am the voice of authority."

"That doesn't count, beaks. We're working with bigger fish here-"

"Medotha, please." Raiko stayed in her seat, but her tone shook. "Chips, you are almost at par with Candela's position, but do you not think we should discuss this as a crew?"

"Do you have a problem with our captain's choice of authority?" Chips asked.

"He's not our damn captain," Medotha growled. "He's just some kid with a ship!"

"Then why do you care what-"

Ane Ou slammed on the table with a fist. "Enough!"

Medotha fell silent, indignation still painted all over her face. Chips seemed unmoved. Raiko looked terrified.

"It seems to me," Ane Ou continued with a heavy tone, "that you have no clear chain of command."

 _No surprises there_ , Savage thought.

"You also have no coherence within your team. Normally, I would not care, but this exchange is of particular interest to me."

No one responded. It wasn't like anyone had to think about this in the few months they've been a full crew. Still, Savage thought they were "coherent" enough in battle. Just barely.

"I will allow you two days to deliberate with your team."

For some reason, Savage didn't feel all too assured by the two-day time frame. It just felt like a delay of the inevitable. They glanced at the others; Raiko looked just as uneasy as Savage felt. Medotha's frown seemed to be mostly directed at Chips, who still had no emotion written on his face.

"You will be assigned appropriate accommodations within this facility. You will be treated as guests of the Raiju company, but remember that there are some areas and facilities that are not accessible. Additionally, any attempt to jeopardize or harm the company or any of our employees will be dealt with." She paused. "Harshly."

"Hang on. One more question before you shoo us away." Savage straightened up, the tight feeling in their chest relaxing ever so slightly. "How does Nikolee fit into all of this? Was she a messenger or employer? How did she even get in contact with you?"

"Savage, I don't think now's the time…" Raiko shuffled about uncomfortably in her seat.

Ane Ou's three eyes narrowed in a Hylotl approximation of a stern frown."Who is this Nikolee?"

"Another Deadbeat! She's short and doesn't stop talking and she sold us out to you!" Savage could feel their heart rate rising again, the blood pulsing through their temples. "I don't understand! Where is she right now?!"

Ane Ou seemed unfazed by took out a scroll and read through it. "We have never encountered anyone with such a name recently. Does she have a pseudonym of some sort?"

"Wouldn't put it past her," Savage growled.

"Would it influence your decision in any way if I were to investigate into this individual?"

Savage paused. "I…"

"What is wrong with you?!" Medotha snarled. "You were the most concerned about whether these people are extorters and criminals, and now-"

"Medotha!" Raiko stood up. "Please, this is not the time."

"Shut it, Medotha," Savage grunted. "I'll- We'll think about it," they said, giving Chips a sidelong glare. Chips merely looked forward at Ane Ou and gave her a tilt of the head, glancing at the rest of the crew.

"Good. We will reconvene in two days. You will be escorted to your quarters by staff after these doors in five minutes."

"Wait, madam," Raiko sat back down and lowered her head at Ane Ou. "Can you please take us to Candela? If we are to discuss our group's concerns, I feel that our c… he should be present."

Ane Ou gave Raiko a strange look between a piercing, calculating gaze and a look of pity. "Of course."


	6. Chapter 6 - Rocks and Hard Places

**_I tried to spend a little less time on this; I wanted a chapter done in less than a week, but I guess a lowered word count was the result.  
Oh well._**

 ** _Also the opening text does not belong to me; it comes straight from the vanilla game. It's "Emergency Lockdown", one of the codices you can find in the Erchius Mining Facility mission. I thought it would fit since Letheia is mentioned later in the chapter_**

 ** _Please leave reviews and comments if you have any, they keep me sane. Thanks!_**

* * *

 _This facility has been put into full lockdown in accordance with procedure Alpha1a: Awakening.  
An erchius lifeform has been awakened in your facility. We ask that employees remain calm. Letters will be sent to your families, thanking them for your services.  
We hope you have a nice day,  
The Letheia Corporation_

 _-Communication sent by the Letheia Corporation to Lunar Base 12, full text._

* * *

For a moment, Savage forgot that the individual near the back of the room existed. He didn't say anything, affixing each of the crew members with a stare from under his hat as they left. Savage noted that their hands were still dangling uncomfortably close to the guns at his hip.

Once the carved doors behind them slammed shut, Savage prepared to take in a deep breath. They had barely managed to take a moment to inhale.

Medotha suddenly rushed at Chips, hands balled into fists. "You little-"

Savage ducked, one of Medotha's punches narrowly whizzing above their horns. Chips caught the blow in a massive, feathered hand in an almost lazy manner.

Raiko grabbed Medotha's other arm, winding up for another blow. She immediately flinched; Medotha's elbow had caught her in the face. Savage leaped up, dragging Medotha back. It felt almost impossible; how did Medotha keep that much tension in her plant fibers?

"Let me go!" Medotha snarled, tensing and shoving herself against Savage's weight, looking up at Chips. "You're no _better_ than any of us!"

"Calm down!" Savage landed a blow with their fist behind Medotha's head, but it did no more damage than a fish hitting a tree. The tree in question wriggled her arm out of Savage's grasp, only to be grabbed onto again.

"Don't make _decisions_ -" Medotha aimed a kick at Chips's torso, which the Avian took, barely swaying. " _-for the rest of us!_ "

For the first time, Savage saw a hint of pity in Chips's eyes as he stared down at her. He blocked another kick with his other arm. Medotha struggled against Savage's grip, her other foot firmly planted on the ground.

"You think you can _call the shots-"_

"Medotha, shut up." Savage gritted their teeth and pulled Medotha away. She stumbled backward, a furious, wild rage in her eyes.

"That's enough.", another woman's voice rang out.

A guard placed a firm gauntlet on Chips's shoulder. At the same time, another guard placed an arm gently on Medotha's free arm.

"Cease and desist, Visitor," the guard holding Medotha said. It wasn't Viktorija or Nils; just some Hylotl employees in heavy armor. The one holding Medotha looked impassively over the scene, three eyes unblinking.

Medotha struggled for a second longer against Savage's grip. Her dark eyes glanced at the two armored guards, and suddenly her stance grew limp. After a few tugs, she relented, silently putting her foot down. Only then did the guard let go of her other arm. Medotha pressed her arms close to herself with a glare.

"You all right, Raiko?" The Hylotl was standing back, hands pressed just above her lip.

"I will be fine," she said through her hands. "It is just a bruise."

Savage looked askance at Medotha. They had never seen her this angry; Savage almost wanted her unfunny side back. "What the hell is wrong with you?" they asked as they were led away, in as calm as a tone they could muster.

Medotha did not answer, not even with a glare.

* * *

Candela had been sent to the Raiju corporation's medical bay. It felt more or like a hospital but with more buzzers, lights, dials, and buttons than should be convenient. There were buttons outside of each ward, handprint scanners beside certain doors, some sensors Savage couldn't fathom the use for every few feet, and cameras situated in certain corners. The floor was pristine; Savage could see their face in it. Barely anyone was around the corridors, even as the light outside the windows began to bathe the planet in early-morning starlight.

Candela lay unconscious in one of the suites at the far end of the facility. The blood had been cleaned off their face, but various greenish and purple bruises bloomed on his face and neck. He was pale enough that his freckles showed. They wondered for a moment why Candela was so adamant about not leaving his ship. Surrender would have been the less painful option, even for the owner of a ship falling apart at the seams.

Sometimes while Candela sat at the cockpit, or told people to help out with the cooking, or acquired furniture for the ship in his ridiculous outfit, it was hard to see Candela for who he was, aside from their pseudo-captain or the ship's owner.

A child.

Barely past adolescence.

Raiko stepped in and broke Savage's line of thought. "Oh goodness. The safer tranquilizers must have worn off by now. How long has it been since… since the intake?"

"Dunno. Couple of hours?" Savage slumped into a steel chair. As always, it was bolted to the floor. So was the bed. So was the plant in the corner of the room; Savage could see steel plates underneath the round, painted pot. The bedside table too was bolted to the floor; Savage was mildly surprised to see that the bottle of pills and the notepad weren't bolted to the table.

"So tell me why you aren't just raring to get this job."

Medotha had just walked in. Her posture was stiff, bent over, even as she plopped onto Candela's bed, taking the bottle of pills along the way. She folded her arms over her chest. "We all know that you people going to take this damn job."

"Sounds exactly like something you'd do though," Savage said, shrugging.

"One more crack out of you, Deadbeat, and I will throw our captain and his bed at your face." Medotha cracked her knuckles. The menacing look on her face looked unfitting, even for a Floran. It somehow looked plastered on. Perhaps Savage just wasn't used to seeing Medotha this enraged.

"Medotha… we have got two days specifically to discuss what this job will do for us." Raiko's tone was soft. "So please calm down. I am sure we can work something out soon."

"Oh please," Medotha rolled her eyes. "If that woman didn't give us any time to think, you would have just said yes. Thanks to that freak over there." Medotha swung her leather-wrapped leg and pointed at Chips with her foot. Chips only frowned, his expression somewhat deeper than usual.

"When did _you_ start to care?" Chips uttered in a low voice, almost a shadowy caw.

Savage started. This was the first time Chips had spoken since they left the ship.

"None of your damn business." Medotha's hand tightened around the pill bottle.

"Medotha, what the hell is wrong with you? You're kind of a…" Savage made a vague gesture. "But you're never actually… angry. Actually never seen you this upset, come to think of it." _Never even seen you consider the consequences of your actions either._

"You want to know why I care? That thing over there." Medotha gestured at Candela. "He's a _kid_. He doesn't know what he's doing. He's going to get us all _killed._ And you're just going to trust what he says, because apparently, that freak over there," She again pointed to Chips with her foot, "covers your asses most of the time with his guns. Aren't you going to ask about _why_ that feathered freak over there agreed to something none of us had a say in?"

Savage only barely heard Raiko whisper from across the room. "But I've never heard you ask _why_ either…"

"I have said it before." Again, Chips's voice seemed even lower and deeper than usual. "It is a task, and it is lucrative."

"It's not just _that._ I don't trust Ane Ou, and neither should any of you cads."

Medotha and Chips were staring daggers at each other. Savage felt as though they would rather be far away from all of this. Candela probably could have cleared the air, but he was currently not in a state to do so.

"Don't trust her either," Savage grunted.

"Don't you even _know_ what might happen if we take her up on the offer?" Medotha leaned forward, rubbing her temples. "Did you people live in a _nursery_?"

"Maybe if you'd _tell_ us what's on your mind-" Savage growled before they were stopped by a pill hitting them square on the forehead.

"First of all, we'll be allying ourselves with this Raiju company. This immediately gives us a lot of enemies in all directions. Ever heard of competitors? Bigger fish? Manaticon Arms? The _freaking_ Letheia Corporation? It's not exactly a secret what they do to their workers. What will they do to us when we work for them? And what about when they're done with us?!"

"Ane Ou said… that we would be treated at least decently," Raiko repeated, her eyes closed.

"Never said that," Savage grunted. "Just basically treated us like visitors."

"She gave us accommodations and appropriate medical care for Candela." Raiko looked over Candela with a look of pity on her face. "She must not be completely malevolent in her actions."

"You _believe_ her?"

"I… cannot imagine just how she would come after us."

"Oh, good stars, you spring shoot, you summer sapling." Medotha shook her head. "You have _no idea._ You just don't. I'm pretty even Savage knows, and they grew up in the middle of back-end nowhere."

"Lay off, Medotha." Savage groaned, pinching the bridge of their nose. "We already know how bad Letheia is. They're untouchable. No one can do anything even if they strand an entire operation with no food or help. They can just do whatever they want, and people still flock to them because they're the most convenient option."

"And how is _this_ ," Medotha pointed at the door, "any different?"

"For one, Ane Ou seems reasonable. Also, she didn't kill us at the first opportunity." Savage looked up. "Were she anything like Letheia, we'd be in thought-extraction tubes by now."

"Oh please," Medotha sighed. There could be guards coming towards our position to drain our minds."

Raiko placed her head on one weary hand. "That is the point, Medotha. They had all the chances to kill us or otherwise harm us, and they never did. I, for one, give them credit for that."

"Yeah, they really treated 'captain' here like a king."

"He is unconscious, yes. But he cannot do himself harm in this state, nor will he be able to harm others." Raiko looked at Candela with pity on her face. "I would not call this undue harm. This is standard emergency practice in many Apex and human colonies."

"Okay, let's say they really aren't out to take advantage of us." Medotha placed the pill bottle between her hands, as though to crush it flat. "Are we _really_ going to ally ourselves with these people? We could be making ourselves some powerful enemies. Not to mention that we _know_ they've been accused of extortion and bribery in the past. Could be doing some other shady things on the side."

Savage put their elbows on their knees. "Can't have anything too complicated on our plates right now. We're broke."

Medotha looked as though she had won a game of Glitch Chess. "I _told_ you."

"I…" Raiko's gaze fell. "I do not think we can do much about that."

"Just going to ignore the fact that they could turn on us at any moment?" Medotha muttered, her words dripping with sarcasm. "You _do_ care about us."

"Of course I care that they have done terrible things in the past!" Raiko straightened up from her seat, her face lined with worry. "If we had a choice, I would walk away! But I cannot." Raiko's voice lowered in defeat. "We still need to earn money, and I think Silverscreen deserves to give us what he promised."

"And you think it's okay to… ally yourselves with these Raiju people?" Medotha sounded askance.

"It is not. But… we barely have a choice." Raiko sighed. "Ane Ou set quite the honey pot on us."

"You heard her," Savage retorted. "We can just walk away."

"Not a chance." Medotha took a pill and flung it at Savage's head. "They have our ship. Candela cannot live without that pile of junk. Have you _seen_ him when the guards tried to strangle him?"

Savage nodded. Candela may have been tall and gangly for a human, but desperation became his very soul when faced with the prospect of leaving his ship. It took more than half the guards present to successfully sedate him with a needle and the same number to keep him still until the tranquilizer took effect.

"Don't have to ask, if you catch my drift."

"Yeah, tell that to the guards. Have fun fighting them _on their own turf._ " Medotha took another pill and flung it at Savage's head.

"Okay, then we're not going

"On what?"

"The same things we did."

"And then what?"

"Raiko, you're a sweetheart." Medotha shook her head. "But if you think this life ever going to change, you're damn wrong."

"...I wish I weren't," Raiko sighed.

Everyone fell silent. Raiko looked out of the window, unease painted all over her face. Chips sat in a corner, his face still set in heavy stone. Medotha still looked uncharacteristically angry, her fists digging into the mattress next to her. Savage cleared their throat to break the silence.

If Savage were to be honest with themselves, there was only one reason they would accept a job like this. Ane Ou and her associates would have more than enough resources to track down Nikolee, but no one else seemed to care enough about her. It made sense to some extent to Savage; no one on the ship had known her for more than a month, but their indifference cut a wedge into their ego here and there.

"I… still want to take this job," they spoke into the silence, slowly.

Medotha made an exasperated noise. "The last time we listened to you, we got into this mess. Why the hell would we-"

"Medotha, please let them talk." Raiko glanced at Medotha for a moment.

"Not the best option, yeah," Savage continued. "But… we still have to get our pay back. Silverscreen's still sitting on his shiny chair, doing whatever research he's doing. We don't have much pixels to us, and almost no fuel. And besides…" Savage lowered their voice. "I still want to find Nikolee and give her what she deserves."

"What, your girlfriend?" Medotha snorted.

"She's not my damn girlfriend," Savage growled.

"Why not? You know she's not…"

Medotha stopped. Raiko was looking straight at her. The Floran sighed and shrugged. "Fine. I'll keep quiet. But I'll say this: working for her is a _bad idea._ "

"Don't say that," Savage said, almost automatically. That phrase was all too familiar. "I know it's a bad idea. But... we can work it through a little more. And if it goes bad, we can just wing it, right? Just like you do."

"I don't-" Medotha's breath caught. She exhaled. "I'm not winging _this_ one. And you probably should stop talking. You're putting us in danger."

Raiko put a gentle hand on Savage's shoulder. "We should probably discuss this another time," Raiko sighed. "We are tired, and I think we've gotten some things to think about. There's still some time before we are forced to make a decision."

"Like you're going to change your minds about any of this,"  
"Medotha, I think something else is wrong. We can talk about anything else you have on your mind, if you wish."

Medotha shook her head. "I'm done with this for the foreseeable future." She rose from the bed, put down the pill bottle on the bedside table with a thump, and slouched of the room.

"Sorry about your nose," she said before leaving the room.

For a moment, looking at the doorway, Savage thought they saw two gray eyes and messy dark hair vanish, as though listening in.


	7. Chapter 7 - Flip of a Coin

**I'm back! And I have a new (better) job!**  
 **To be honest I don't think this chapter is very good. But I have to propel the story forward.**  
 **The Word file looked like murder because these people speak in fragments all the time. I think I'm giving Microsoft Word an aneurysm.**

 **-C**

* * *

 _The Floran looked at her reflection in the mirror._

 _Wrong._

 _The mirror shattered, shards of glass digging themselves into the Floran's fist, dripping sap and blood onto the ground._

 _Try again._

* * *

The crew never really cared what time of day they went to sleep. When in space, all day is night time. They simply divided shifts among each other, so that at least two or three people were awake at a time. In fact, the past day was one of the rare moments where everyone was slated to be awake at the same time. These were usually during assignments.

The local star rose over the horizon, glimmering over the yellow sand. The temperature seemed to soar outside, little heat waves causing the very air to dance. The inside of the compound, thankfully, was temperature and climate controlled. Each of the crew was given separate rooms, possibly to keep anyone hurt. Medotha's room had more guards than anyone else.

Savage sat on their bed in the Raiju compound.

They watched the golden desert outside shimmering in the heat. It almost seemed like their former home, except the sand was more rocky and red. Here, the ground was powdery and yellow, waves and sheets fluttering and dancing in the air. If they listened just a little more, they could hear the whisper of sand rising and falling in dusty whorls with every breath of wind.

Savage blinked. Beyond the horizon stood large, hulking, dark gray masses. Another blink. The same metal remains of grand machines stood there, not no more than piles of gears and rubble. Blink. They could almost see the bits of machine parts and wires just holding the colossal machines together. Every time someone touched them, rust and soot would rub off on their skin if they were lucky. If they were plain stupid, the machines would just collapse and kill anyone standing too close.

Savage stood up. Blink. The machines seemed to be rising, red rubble and stone collecting in their crevices. Blink. The heat waves shimmered in the distance. The sandstorm whipped up an orange cloud of dust. Savage could remember how being hit by a blast of wind could feel out there, sharp and hot enough to leave bruises and wounds and even burns. The air was hot and dry. Savage needed to be alone, to get away from Nikolee while she was gone, but no; she would be back, she always came back, and Savage _hated_ her, but they needed to stick together to survive;

The room was filled with sand. Red and yellow melded together into a patchwork of color. No plant life, just skulls of the long-dead, another Deadbeat here, some kind of quadruped there. Rubble rolled along the ground, in a powerful breeze that Savage could no longer feel, digging out more and more bones and limbs from beneath the ground-

Savage's feet left no prints on the sand beneath. They could feel it, warm from the sun. But wasn't there a - never mind. Hurriedly, they threw on some boots and walked out into the corridor.

The sand started rising and piling. Savage's ankles were buried in stony sand and powdery grit, the glittering bits of glass almost too bright to see through. The whisper of the sandstorm had grown into a roar, every sound echoing miles into Savage's mind. The sun was almost too warm to bear, the grains of sand beating down like millions of fleas-

Their knees were buried in sand, and it was rising. Soon, their chest would be submerged, and then their neck, and then their head, and maybe, just maybe, they could hide forever-

They fell to their knees. Maybe falling asleep in the middle of a sandstorm wasn't so bad after all. If they just _kept still_ and _stayed silent_ long enough, then they could hide and no one could come around a pillar, yelling that they'd succeeded as the ground rocked and sand flew about in clouds while the air roared-

"What the hell are you doing down there?" a gruff voice asked.

Savage didn't respond. It wasn't real.

"Kid. Open up."

Savage looked up. It was the human in the hat from Ane Ou's Office. Now that the light had fully suffused the premises, Savage caught sight of his face. It looked lined and sun-tanned, yet unmarked by the whirling storm. They had the beginnings of stubble growing on their chin.

"Get up." The man did not even seem perturbed by the sand flooding the corridor and spilling out into the courtyard.

"Are you…" Savage coughed, a waterfall of sand falling out of their mouth. "...Sand."

"Air filters should have cleaned out all that garbage," the man replied. "Dunno what you're talking about. You allergic to deserts?"

Savage coughed again. "It's too bright."

"Sunlight sure is a horror, ain't it?"The man held out a gloved hand to Savage. "Place always looked better in the dark."

Savage stared into the man's eyes. They never really taught themselves to look anyone in the eye, unless it was Raiko, whose gaze was too fragile to betray anything too unkind. But this person looked honestly convinced that nothing was wrong, except for the "guest" crumpled up on the ground.

"Get up."

The man grabbed Savage by the back of their collar and shoved them onto a waiting bench. The impact winded Savage for a moment. They coughed up more sand. The grit on the tiles seemed to be dissipating into nothing.

"Look again."

Savage shut their eyes tightly, enough to see weird patches of colored light. When they opened their eyes, the sand was gone.

The sunlight streamed into the halls. Clean, blue water sparkled outside of the glass windows.

And the floor was clean titanium. Not a grain of sand. Everything still felt oddly ethereal, like seeing things from behind a veil. But they were sure that the warm metal under their hands, the solid wall, were all real and there, and wouldn't _melt away_ or _disappear-_

Savage hesitated and tapped a boot onto the tile. The clunk sounded almost too loud. No sand. No cloaking either.

Savage felt both cheated and stupid. The sand always disappeared when they tried to point it out.

"Here."

Savage nearly toppled; the clunk of something metallic crashed against their head. The sound felt like a gunshot. Savage leaped from the bench, fist wrenched backward for an attack. Only no attack came, just the pathetic rolling of some kind of canned beverage from the titanium bench.

Savage felt even more dumb. _Get a grip, dumbass._

The man in the hat sighed and took out a hip flask, taking a deep pull from it. He finishes his drink and sighs, shaking his head. "You people never know how to take a present."

Savage sighed and popped the lid of the can open, downing half of the drink in one gulp. Something alcoholic, then. The drink burned their throat, sending a flood of warmth down to their fingers and toes. They never really felt just how cold their fingers were until they took a drink. Savage let out a breath more noisily than they should have.

"Damn, kid. When was the last time you had a drink?" The man in the hat raised his eyebrows.

"We don't drink alcohol on the ship. Captain's orders." Savage let out another cough. "Not that he's our captain or anything."

"Words only mean so much compared to how you treat someone." The man took another swig from his flask. "Forgot to introduce m'self. Lazy Joe. Pleasure."

"Savage." The Deadbeat took the human's hand. Lazy Joe had a firm grip. "You're with Ane Ou."

"In some capacity, sure. I work for her."

"As what?"

"Little bit of bodyguarding, little bit of something else you'll find out in due time. Can't tell you much. It's in my contract.

The Deadbeat fell silent, staring into the can of alcohol. Savage felt a bit small, like a child in a marketplace. The sting of the sand pouring in from everywhere still weighed on their mind. They didn't like thinking too hard or remembering; it always ended up with dreams of being buried in sand and stone. Dreams of endless desert and walking, with a shadow to his right and the tang of copper in the air. They'd never think of telling Raiko or anyone about this; they already gave Savage weird stares in odd moments, especially when Nikolee was around or when they were being too quiet.

And perhaps, talking with a human who was in the room during the meeting with Ane Ou wasn't helping things, but Lazy Joe was still glancing at Savage every now and then.

"Can you not do that? Pretty creepy." Savage looked back at their own drink.

"Says the blue-skinned alien with horns and no real name." Lazy Joe snorted. "If anything, you would have given half the people here creeps." A pause. "Or maybe not. The Apex here aren't Miniknog and the rest came from colonies. Hell, Ane Ou is Hylotl through and through, and _she_ didn't try to teach you the ways of the colonized."

"I don't care what kind of Hylotl she is," Savage muttered. "I'm more surprised she hasn't murdered us in our sleep."

"Yeah, everyone is. Imagine, a bunch of strangers who beat up her scientists let you in Ane Ou's office, and you all come out breathing. Didn't even need any body bags, and I don't have to write out a gun report."

"Wasn't our fault," Savage mumbled, mostly to themselves. "The others attacked first."

Lazy Joe's eyebrows shot up into the shadow of his hat. "Not even a hello, how-do-you-do?"

"If they had at least said something, we'd have stopped."

Lazy Joe sighed. He scratched the fine stubble on his chin. "Ane Ou is going to hunt them down if she knew about this."

Savage gave Lazy Joe an astonished look. "For attacking _strangers_?"

"Yeah." The human looked out into the desert, eyes narrowed. "See, the entirety of this corporation is built on a protocol and a trust that everyone follows that protocol. None of us are allowed to make the first move or attack strangers. They should have at least said hello or recognized that you existed. Ane Ou is very strict about her protocols. Everything's gotta go her way, or no way at all. Half of those who broke Ane Ou's law lost their jobs, and that's the best possible outcome."

"And the other half?" Savage asked.

"No one talks about them. Too bitter of a taste."

So Ane Ou wasn't completely holding back out of benevolence, Savage thought. She was simply following a rule. Savage couldn't help but think of what would happen if that rule didn't exist, or if Ane Ou simply didn't care. She could afford to not care. She had this entire facility, a chain of companies, and so much money. The lives of a few renegades in a broken ship wouldn't matter much.

"But why do you work for her? One tiny slip and you could be gone."

"Not I. But the others here, they trust her completely. And she trusts them. You can't get that kind of trust elsewhere in the galaxy. At least…" Lazy Joe let out a chuckle, his gaze suddenly piercing Savage. "Not from you kids."

Savage let out a sound between a laugh and a cough. True, Savage couldn't help that they couldn't trust the rest of the crew. They simply trusted the other crew members to do their job at a minimum. They thought they would be comfortable just hoping that they'd do their job. But earlier's breakdown, Medotha's anger, Chips's willingness to talk over an absent captain (not their captain)… somehow, they spelled trouble.

Lazy Joe turned to face Savage. "Why even consider working for Ane Ou?"

Savage responded without thinking. "Because she has something I want."

"And given the choice, ignoring your crew members, you'd want to follow her anyway."

"Minus the consequences, sure." Savage shrugged.

Lazy Joe fell silent for a moment. "You're either desperate or crazy."

"First time I've ever got that."

"Then you've been playing it too safe." Lazy Joe shook his head. "That's no way to live."

Savage blinked. "You've lived here on a planet. More dangerous out there than you think. Have to be careful."

Lazy Joe chuckled and took out a coin. There was a vaguely human profile etched onto one side. "The trick is that I don't think too hard about these things." He flipped the coin. "Just let the spindles turn, let the coin flip, whatever. Sometimes the best plans come without any plans whatsoever."

The coin pinged onto the titanium tiles. It landed heads-up.

"See that? Heads." Lazy Joe took another swig from his flask. "You're going to be working for my boss."

Savage scoffed. "Coins don't tell you jack. You can't tell me what I'll be doing."

"Well, that's for you to believe."

"You're drunk."

"Nope. This is my first drink of the evening." Lazy Joe took another swig. "I don't drink on the job."

"What kind of guard are you? Did you just flip a coin and say, yeah, I'm working for this rich lady who _terminates_ people when they don't do things my way."

"'S a matter of fact, yeah I did." Lazy Joe grinned as though he were remembering an old joke. "It was a tails. Ane Ou just looked at me like I'd lost my damn mind, but signed the contract anyway. I still let the coins fall, but she's never regretted it. Not once."

"Coin flips are still stupid."

"Yeah, you're right." Lazy Joe laughed and emptied his flask. Savage noticed that he suddenly looked ten years older. "Overthinking is just as stupid. So is failing to trust your judgement. Tell me, kid. When was the last time you made a decision?"

"Few hours ago. Was a wreck."

"You said it wasn't your fault that our people drew guns first, yet you're blaming it on _your_ poor judgement?" Lazy Joe looked stern. "You never trusted your decision from the start."

Savage started. The empty beverage can crumpled in their grip. "You don't know that."

"You've got that look that says 'I've never made a decision for myself in my life, and I don't intend to start now.' Tell me, who's been tellin' you everything there was to know?"

Savage's voice grew low. "Stop. I made that decision. _I make my own decisions._ "

"Then _act_ like it."

The morning was warm, and uncomfortable. Savage emptied the can of drink and tossed it at the window. They couldn't tell what was missing. Surely they acted on their own fuel. Surely there was no one behind the scenes pulling at the strings.

Surely they could find Nikolee and keep her silent. That would tie up the last loose end.

* * *

A distant alarm keened. A red light pulsed on the ceilings.

Viktorija rushed through the corridors and knocked at a door.

"Visitor. Get out and come with me. _Now._ "


	8. Chapter 8 - What Was Forgotten

**I swear the action's coming in for the next chapter!  
-C**

* * *

" _The well-structured life is a repetitive and boring one."_

 _-Unknown Avian Scholar_

* * *

"Bax Silverscreen is on the run."

Ane Ou's hands were folded, her demeanor exuding pure calm. The blue fan in her hand did not so much as shake as she stared down each of the crew of the Rust Frigate. Chips and Medotha both looked as though they hadn't slept a wink. Medotha's leaves looked ruffled, as though she had been running her hands through them in frustration. Raiko was still blinking out the sleep from her three eyes. Savage hadn't felt like sleeping for the five full hours that fate allowed them. Lazy Joe was in the room too, leaning against the wall, hat carefully positioned so as to draw shade right over his eyes.

"It is regrettable," Ane Ou enunciated carefully. "But before we lose his signal, we will need an answer from you."

Savage took a deep breath. It was now or never. If they were going to work for Ane Ou, they'd probably have to argue with the rest of the crew again, but it seemed that they didn't have to.

Medotha laughed and walked forward, a spring in her step Savage ducked aside to narrowly avoid getting shoved aside, as they had learned the hard way the first time they had met. Medotha turned to her crewmembers, a wide fanged smile on her face. "You people are a waste of time. What are we waiting for? It's good money."

Savage raised their eyebrows. "Medotha, you okay?"

Raiko also looked a bit surprised and worried. "Just a few hours ago, you were-"

"I'm sorry, who?" Medotha cracked her knuckles, a menacing glint suddenly flashing in her eye. "Let me beat them up. No one ever lets me have any fun."

Savage caught a worried glance from Raiko. Somehow the Medotha from a few hours ago seemed even faker than the individual standing before everyone now. Perhaps they hadn't noticed it before, or Medotha was trying a little too hard today, but the way she cracked her knuckles felt mechanical, without the same feeling or energy as yesterday. Even Chips looked mildly perturbed as he raised his eyebrow a fraction of an inch.

"Anyway lady, just call me when there are people to fight or robots to disassemble. I'll be in my room, sharpening my-"

Medotha stopped in her tracks as the heavy carved doors swung open. Savage could have sworn she had gasped, and it wasn't because the doors nearly hit her. Savage felt a jolt as they realized who the cadaverous person in the doorway was.

Candela stood in the doorway.

The human looked as though the few hours since he'd been sedated aged him by decades. They were still pale, but their hair was smoothed back and tied in a way that emphasized just how unkempt his long hair was. The dark shadows under their eyes still hovered like ghosts, framing eyes that looked as though they were in desperate need of more sleep. They were dressed in the same clothes they went down in, only with faint bloodstains and grime adorning the collar and hems. They slumped forward, hands in their short pockets; every now and then their head and shoulder would jerk oddly.

"Greenfinger's berries, Candela. What happened to you?" Medotha breathed.

"I was shot with a tranquilizer and rendered unconscious," Candela responded, rolling his eyes. The unspoken obviously rang through the room.

"Not that, dumbass. Are you okay?"

"No, I'm terrified and want my ship back." Candela rolled his eyes, his words spilling out in a sarcastic monotone. Though knowing Candela, he probably was telling more than half the truth.

Raiko let herself through the open doors. Savage thought she was going to check on Candela's vitals, but instead, she accepted a piece of paper from a fuzzy-looking individual with huge ears who probably was the resident doctor. The two conversed briefly in some stilted language, Raiko stopping every now and then to let the doctor explain something, then she returned, hastily tucking a folded sheet of paper in her hand.

"So what's the plan?" Candela asked. "We'll take this job, no problem. Full payment."

Chips silently nodded. Medotha clapped Candela on the back, eliciting a stumble and an annoyed glance. Behind them, Savage heard Lazy Joe let out an exasperated pah. They suddenly remembered the coin.

Well, damn.

"And finally, the crew captain speaks for everyone." A faint smile erupted on Ane Ou's amphibious features. "That should not have taken so long, nor should it have taken such an argument."

"You gave us two days, lady." Medotha sniffed. "Respect that time frame. We had more than 24 hours to beat each other up over it."

"It is customary to give a guest more time than necessary to make a decision," Ane Ou stated, as though she was reciting something from a guidebook. "Now that you have accepted this job, I must instruct you."

Ane Ou swiped her fan in the air towards the wall to Savage's left. A blue-tinted map flickered momentarily to life and displayed a starmap. The view zoomed out, displaying an icon of a ship, moving across the screen among hundreds of pixelated stars. "Bax Silverscreen has left the planet Aurora III, his research hub, and is on a high-speed ship off to the fourth quadrant of this galaxy. We have locked on his position, but as long as he is moving, he will lose our signal at some point. Your task is to find him and discover what he knows. Heavens knows you would want to make him pay for swindling you like that, but try not to torture or do something that would get us in trouble with the Protectorate. Not that there is much left of them, anyway."

Candela let out a small, pained sound, like a wounded mouse. Raiko immediately rushed behind him and gently put her hands on his shoulders, giving him a small squeeze. "Please do not bring that up. We have a job to do."

Ane Ou nodded again. "Very well. Who is the… _unofficial_ technician of your crew?"

Savage felt the eyes of their crew latch onto them.

"Me," they muttered.

"You will assist the Transmission Team momentarily. They have the tracking core needed to lock onto Bax Silverscreen's position. They are an excitable lot, so try to wear a bigger hat." Savage had to stop themselves from rolling their eyes, feeling Ane Ou's gaze on their horns.

"And if we fail?" Savage asked.

"If this goes awry, I will have no choice but to thoroughly and manually screen your memories for evidence of treachery."

Medotha laughed. "What, you think we're gonna turn on you? That sounds awesome."

Chips shot Medotha with a _you're not helping_ look.

Ane Ou continued. "If we find that your incompetence or outward sabotage has caused the failure of this mission, you will get nothing in payment, and we will drop you off at the nearest frozen star about two jumps away. Your memories will also be partially wiped."

Savage's insides went cold.

"Pardon," Raiko said, her voice wavering slightly. Her hands were still on Candela's shoulders. "This was not discussed when we first met."

"I am afraid the situation has changed, Hylotl." Ane Ou responded in a grave voice. "Our objective is leaving and we have little time."

"Excuse me, lady," Medotha remarked, showing her teeth. "There is no way you are dumping our sorry asses on some freezing planet in the middle of nowhere."

Ane Ou shook her head. "Perhaps you might want to consider who writes the terms here. Unfortunately, you are not the employer."

Candela shook his head. "Sorry, Ou. The people have spoken. Strike off the clause where you throw us in a blizzard, and then we'll consider it."

Ane Ou closed her eyes and sighed. "I had expected you to be at least cooperative in my demands. Here at Raiju, every mistake is punished harshly. I as the head do not allow any error." Her eyes flew open, the first vestiges of stern annoyance flooding her face. "You are my instruments for delivering the order of Raiju upon a deserter. You will not be afforded a mistake or any lighter consequences."

"You think slapping on this punishment will make us less likely to mess up?" Savage growled. "You can't be serious."

"I am perfectly serious. Non-compliance will have you on the star immediately, as you have failed to-"

Savage heard the click of a firearm.

Everyone fell silent. The crew all turned around at the source of the sound.

Lazy Joe had a pistol aimed at Ane Ou. His arm was perfectly still. His stance seemed relaxed, but Savage noticed that his free arm was at his hip, close to where a second gun should be.

"Threatening civilians without due threat, ma'am?" he asked, his normally carefree drawl now taking a cold, low, brisk tone. "Violation of conduct. You as the Raiju head know better than to do that."

"Joe," Ane Ou responded. "Threats differ from consequences."

"And consequences do not come in the form of lethal blackmail. Surely there are better ways to go about this than to, say, 'display hostility against civilians', ma'am." Savage heard another click; some distant, still calm part of their brain realized that that must be a weapon modeled after older models with hammers. "Might want to change your decision on that."

For the first time, Ane Ou seemed at a loss for words. The seconds ticked by.

"...Lower your weapon, Joe. I understand." She sat back down, her three eyes shut in resignation.

Lazy Joe holstered his gun and leaned back against the wall, folding his arms.

"You will not be sent to a frozen star upon failure. There will be a thorough investigation if this goes awry, but regardless of the results, it will reflect on you poorly." Ane Ou's eyes opened, flashing red at the crew of the Rust Frigate. "Pray that you do not disappoint yourselves."

Savage let out a breath they hadn't noticed they were holding. Medotha started a slow clap, her face solemn. Chips seemed unmoved, still in the same stiff stance he was in when the crew entered.

"Lazy Joe, what the hell is your job?" Savage demanded.

"Doesn't have a name," Lazy Joe huffed. At the same time, Ane Ou responded in a flat, almost lifeless voice, "Check-and-balance."

A light flashed at Ane Ou's hand.

"Time is running. Deadbeat, you will be led to TT's lab in three minutes. The rest of you will be at the hangar for armaments and further information."

For once, everyone acted as they were supposed to. Candela nodded his acknowledgment and gave everyone the no-nonsense look.

As Medotha walked past, Savage noted that there were tiny scratches on her face and dried sap on her hands.

* * *

The TT (Transportation Technology) Team turned out to be a bunch of unsettlingly cheery humans. They weren't even being actively hostile or unsettling. They just had about as much energy as 15 ravenous Poptops. Combine 15 Poptops in a cramped room full of old teleporters and ship A.I.s, boxes of components and tools, and an abject lack of windows, and one could almost picture the chaos of the Transportation Technology lab.

"What are those? Is that an Elder Scrolls Helmet?" The youngest of the bunch, probably not even as old as Candela poked at Savage's horns. "Are they real?"

"Mac, help me out with the filaments." A taller human with dark skin and probably the most sense crouched at the foot of a generic-looking ship teleporter. Savage was impressed at how they had managed to find enough room for their feet to touch the ground with. They tinkered with the base of a large teleporter, even larger than the one in the Rust Frigate. The teleporter had a few paint chips and dents but still seemed serviceable.

"Wait, it's been so long since I've seen new blood!" The youngest scampered over to Savage and looked them up and down, wonder in their huge brown eyes." Do you like Poptops or Gleaps?"

"Poptops are superior." The tall human was unrolling a spool of uncoated wire as he spoke.

"Nuh-uh."

"Okay, I've set the filaments. New guy, c'mere. Got the coordinate core, Mish?"

Savage hadn't even noticed the third member until she emerged from what looked like a pile of schematics. "I lost it. I'm looking for it!" The glasses and pigtails once again vanished into the paper.

Savage stalked over to the talking pile of schematics with a human head. They took care not to slip on any nuts or upset any toolboxes, which seemed almost impossible. They had to stretch over a pile of random junk and took care not to overturn what looked like a pile of paint cans until they reached the pile of schematics. Only the girl burst out of the paper pile, waving a green, glowing disc. "Found it!"

"H-hey-"

"Catch!" The girl threw it towards the wall. Savage leaped up and caught it, only to crash into a miniature city made of columns of nuts.

"Watch it, those took hours to stack!" Mac waded over to the nuts and let out a dramatic sigh. "I had them sorted by size and source too…"

"Don't throw these kinds of parts!" Savage suddenly felt like the only adult in the room.

"I was aiming at Lochs!" Mish waved her arms about.

"He's over there, you missed by a mile!" Savage mockingly responded, copying Mish's intonation. She stuck her tongue out at Savage.

"Ooooh, is that a loaded teleportation core?" Mac abandoned his half-piled stacks of nuts to approach Savage. The Deadbeat simply raised the core as high as they could. Mac let out a noise like a whining puppy and jumped up.

"Welcome to Transportation Tech," Loch sighed. "Mac, knock it off."

"But I want to see it! And you haven't told me that Gleaps are better yet!"

Savage stumbled back, barely dodging the diminutive Mac, still holding the core up in the air. They numbly wondered why Ane Ou had them on the roster.

"Over here!" Lochs waved his arms behind his colleagues. "Toss!"

Savage shrugged and prepared to toss the core. Mac's eyes grew wide and he tackled Savage, catching them in the hip- and toppling them backwards. They both crashed into a machine partially covered by a cloth.

The impact was enough to set Savage's ears to ringing. Loch's voice slowly faded back into existence as Savage's head cleared and they were able to register a stinging pain in the side of their head.

"Oh my god, get away from that." Loch's silhouette slowly came into view as he shooed off Mac. " _You're touching the forbidden shower, move it_."

Mac suddenly got up and scampered off Savage's midsection. Savage rubbed at their stinging right temple, feeling a droplet of something warm and sticky. Odd that they'd draw blood, that wasn't too much of a hit. Barely noticing Lochs, now fighting his way across the cluttered room, they scrambled up and looked at the fabled _forbidden shower_.

This broken teleporter was half-concealed in purple cloth. Unlike most other teleporters, it completely enclosed its main platform in a cylinder of dirty yellowish glass. Savage had crashed directly into the control panel, which sported a handprint scanned, a keypad, and a needle on an adjustable arm, for some reason.

Savage felt the echo of a sting by their right temple.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" Loch approached and pulled down Savage's lower lids, ignoring Savage's spluttering. "Your eyes seem to be okay. Any bruises? Cuts?"

Savage wriggled away. "I'm fine. Don't touch me." Hopefully, that teleporter didn't work anymore. Hopefully, the faint yellow stains inside it or the weird iron smell didn't mean anything. Why was it in the hands of humans anyway? And who thought of the name forbidden shower anyway? Surely Lochs couldn't have thought that up.

Savage jumped at the sound of a teleporter starting up, nearly tripping over a carefully stacked pyramid of blueprints.

"Oh god Mac, I told you not to test that thing!" Loch rushed off towards Mac and the teleporter in progress, upsetting a box of nuts and bolts in the process. "No! Bad Mac!"

Sighing, Savage picked up the nearest relatively-full toolbox available and went to work.

* * *

In the end, Savage and Lochs did most of the work on the teleporter. The other two simply asked half a million questions about Savage's horns. Savage almost regretted not listening to Ane Ou and considered just stealing a hat off someone's quarters. They had taken the teleporter to the ship, which to Candela's dismay, was not the Rust Frigate. It was a smaller, sleeker ship, complete with perfectly working comms, streamlined FTL, and better air filters.

It also happened to be outfitted with cloaking.

"And don't worry, once you come back, your ship will be back here with a full tank and your supplies," Viktorija said, reading off a list. She seemed significantly less tired, though her skin remained ashen. "Just pick whatever and we'll send you off on your way. There's a safe and quiet path towards the third quadrant, good for keeping quiet. We also found a gravitation staff in your ship, which would have proven useful in fending off our team back at the flesh caverns. I'm not going to ask who forgot about it."

Raiko sighed and buried her face in her hands.

Viktorija seemed to not notice. "Anyway, you've got a pilot, your second mate, a Raiju employee here, backup, techie, and a… navigator." Viktorija gave Raiko a sharp glance before moving on. "We've got coordinates, a path, and a jump beacon, Planck Nova - II. Of course, if we do things right, then not much of this is going to be a problem. Jump to Planck, cut Silverscreen's ship off, while a couple of tracker ships follow his from behind. He'll be trapped unless he finds a way through the tracker ship. And even then, the instant teleportation should get you straight on their ship. I assume you've rigged the teleporter?"

Savage's temple stung for a moment.

"Rigged to their beacon, yeah. Even if they turn off comms, we'll still be able to keep tabs on them."

"Good. The original tracker beacon was a failure, but the newer tests were more or less infallible."

Candela started tending to the cockpit, the lights flashing on like a carnival ride. "That's reassuring."


	9. Chapter 9 - Clash Landing

I might actually revamp the first chapters once I'm done with this arc.

Same story, just better delivery.

-C

* * *

 _"_ _We just have to try harder. YOU have to try harder."_

 _-Nikolee_

* * *

The S.A.I.L. designated the vehicle as Ship Kreuse. It was a small ship, but designed to cruise by silently and blend in with the background. It wasn't exactly pitch black so that it wouldn't appear as a blatantly dark patch in the middle of a nebula's light or a starfield. The outer panels were also treated with a coating that kept light from reflecting off of it too much. Savage called it "anti-glare" or "anti-flash". Candela called it "matte".

The tiny ship was built to spend as little fuel as possible in each jump. Candela also somehow knew just where to jump, or perhaps it was the beacon attached to the teleporter and navigations. The S.A.I.L was deemed to be too disruptive, spouting seemingly random numbers like the number of Glitch personnel who have operated this ship (5), and the number of comms currently listening in (1, Raiju employees' comms). By a majority vote, with only Candela and Chips voting against, the S.A.I.L. was turned off.

"You have no idea how useful a working S.A.I.L. could help us," Candela huffed, examining the dashboard panels and touching buttons.

"You represent Raiju, and I'm here as their representative. Also, did you know that S.A.I.L.s are some of the most easily damaged and infiltrated components of a ship's management systems?" Viktorija twiddled with the controls and shut the babbling AI off. "Sorry, Cap. Boss lady would kill me if she knew I let this possible security breach open."

Most of the ride was spent in silence. With Nikolee's interference, the silence was almost a blessing. However, there seemed to be an uneasy silence between Chips and Medotha. The two usually were fine with each other, but Medotha seemed to be keeping him at bay. Chips kept everyone at bay, but it was the way his glare just seemed a touch troubled that made the entire arrangement seem off. Additionally, he was glaring at Viktorija every now and then like she had kicked his Gleap.

A tiny ship winked at them from beyond a star. The dark blue paneling was obviously designed similarly to Ship Karst, but whoever had worked on the ship foolishly forgot to apply the anti-glare coat.

"Target sighted," Viktorija whispered. "Cloak and get close. The other team of ships should be catching him from behind."

Fingers flying like a pianist's hands, he navigated the panel and pulled a lever. Candela never mentioned where they were trained as a pilot; only that they somehow were familiar with all kinds of systems. Even during the short stint where they had loaned a small-time crime boss's ship, Candela was always able to work through the levers and commands after a few minutes of review and muttering to themselves. Though it took several stim-paks and a drink to get him to leave the Rust Frigate for quite a period of time.

A few seconds passed. A wave of blue energy spiraled outside of the portholes. "Cloak active," Candela announced. Medotha started clapping slowly until her applause was cut short by Chips giving her a light punch on the arm.

"Good, now pull closer. We'll need to get their signal."

Candela twiddled with the steering arc. Their cloaked ship inched closer to Silverscreen's ship. Savage opened a drawer found in nearly every ship, where the tuning tools would be found. All of them were there, except for the cutting tool used specifically for unsalvageable operations, or something.

"Thought this ship was fully equipped," Savage called out to the room, not specifically targeting Viktorija or anyone.

"Wait, something's wrong." Viktorija ignored Savage, ducking below sight of the windshield. "Pull back."

Candela pulled on the steering arc as Chips and Medotha seamlessly hid, staying out of sight of the portholes. The ship slowed to a halt, taking cover behind some flying bit of space debris.

Another ship, this time sleek blue came into view from behind Silverscreen's ship. This one was significantly matte; someone had taken the time to spray on the proper anti-flash ("matte") coating. It approached Silverscreen's ship as though it were trying to get past any speed sensors floating out in the void without triggering them.

"Weird, that's not one of the B-team, is it?" Medotha peered from behind Candela. "It's too ugly."

Chips let out an annoyed cluck.

A white light flickered to life on the dashboard.

"Don't mind that," Viktorija muttered, laying a hand on her weapon. "Cloaking should keep us hidden as long as we're not, you know, out in the open."

Savage caught Candela staring at the white light with wide-eyed skepticism, then looking out the dashboard.

"Then why are they turning towards us?" he asked in a tight, tensely polite tone.

Savage peeked out through a side porthole. The sleeker ship was indeed turning, though their current trajectory lay several hundred meters to the left and above the Raiju ship.

"That shouldn't be possible… The cloaking tests were perfect." Viktorija blinked for a few seconds at the durasteel floor. "They shouldn't know we're here. Well, they don't know we're here." Viktorija sighed. "Well, I think this is going to be a problem, but there's another thing you need to know."

"What's that?" Candela asked, his polite tone taking on another notch of tension. Savage had half a mind to remind the "captain" to focus.

"I know where we are."

Before her words could properly sink into Savage's mind, and before Candela or anyone could react, Viktorija pushed the cloaking lever. The energy field around their ship dissipated.

Chips immediately tackled her to the dashboard. Buttons and lights flickered on and off like a frantic Glitch wrapped in fairy lights. Viktorija threw a punch.

A beam of blue light enveloped Viktorija and Chips, and they found themselves lifted from the dashboard into the air; Raiko had the attraction staff out, only to stumble a little as Candela grabbed the steering arc and pulled, sending everyone rolling.

The comms sputtered open. "Ship Kreuse, what's your status?"

"Danger, we're being-"

A shot from an energy pistol fried the dashboard; the comms whined and died.

Viktorija had her pistol out, her nose bloodied and her jaw already turning a dark shade. She immediately pointed it towards Candela. "Nobody move. Nobody speak."

Savage felt the blood pounding in their ears. The sleek ship was coming closer, like a sand shark ready to pounce; they could almost hear the telltale whisper of the shark- no, back to the present. Viktorija's hand was steady. Candela was looking everywhere for some idea, anything; he seemed to be looking to Chips more than once.

Savage considered crawling around for something, but couldn't risk it; Viktorija still seemed perfectly capable of handling her gun, even as she spat a tooth out. She had that look of someone counting down to a plan.

The teleporter came to life.

A figure wreathed in yellow light materialized in the teleporter.

After a moment, they straightened up, this time with his hood down. A series of fresh bandages wrapped around his face. Savage noted some areas where the yellow fluid had already started to seep into the gauze. He looked balefully at each of the inhabitants of the ship, three bloodied, three frozen in shock.

Cloak sighed in his grating, off-sync voice. "Why must it be you people again?"

Savage noted that half of Cloak's voice could have belonged to either a young Apex or a middle-aged human. Outside of an actual fight, they stood slightly hunched over, as though they were trying to look innocuous in the middle of an urban crowd. Their cloak was battered and dusty, even sporting tears and rips here and there.

"Good to see you, " Viktorija greeted him like a best friend.

Cloak waved at her, like an old friend. His tattered sleeve flapped in the recycled air. "Viktorija, don't shoot the comms right away when this happens."

"Sorry."

Cloak carefully stepped off the platform and gave everyone a cursory glance. "It's them again. I've seen them before." His flat tone gave Savage the impression that he was talking about inanimate objects.

Medotha scoffed. "We have n-"

Viktorija shot at Medotha's foot. The energy left a scorched hole in the tile. Medotha rolled her eyes, mouthing something that could have been any variety of swearwords.

"What should we do?" Viktorija asked, shifting her gun back towards Chips. "We can't just leave them here. Loose ends."

"Well, memory-wiping would take too much time, so-"

A gunshot rang out. Viktorija toppled forward, a scorched portion behind her head. Savage couldn't tell if she was dead or just knocked out. Chips quickly whipped about to aim at Cloak, gun in hand. Without figuring out who had fired first, Savage they took their wrench and rushed at Cloak.

Cloak sidestepped, falling into Medotha's line of fire; she immediately held Cloak in a headlock; suddenly she had let go, her arm spurting sap and watery blood. She seemed not to notice as she roared, grabbing Cloak by the bandages and pulling.

The entire ship rocked, pulling everyone towards the starboard side, throwing Savage away from Cloak and into the wall; Candela had taken the steering wheel and was rolling the entire ship towards Silverscreen's.

"Maybe stop that?!" Savage yelled, stumbling towards Candela.

Candela rocked the ship to the other side. "I'm getting the job done!"

Savage knocked Candela aside; a stray shot hit the windshield; it left a burnt mark on the glass.

Savage reached for their belt pouch. There had to be one explosive here… Candela impatiently smacked Savage's hand, dominant hand still gripping onto the steering arc for dear life.

"No, not that, idiot, you'll get everyone in here!"

Savage cursed and grabbed the toolbox from under the dashboard. They could hear the sounds of scuffling, and the steely sounds of swords being drawn until the ship rocked to the opposite side again. Savage scrambled to keep their position.

The teleporter whirred again. There was the clang of metal against steel as Candela rocked the ship to the side, forcing Savage off their feet and onto their back.

"Nervous. I was getting nervous," a Glitch beeped weakly, having hit the wall.

Bax Silverscreen half-lay against the wall, which was slightly dented from his impact. Bax didn't look too good himself; his tie was done too tight and his "eyes" were blinking and rolling. "Don't crash into my ship. What is happening-"

Candela cut him off by landing a boot sole in his face.

Savage hurriedly grabbed the steering arc and pulled. They only had a second in the captain's ship before remembering that they had never properly learned how to steer a ship. No time to worry about that though; the dashboard was rapidly approaching some blue planet ahead.

The ship reeled back, sending all combatants tumbling to the back of the ship. There was a cavernous clang and a shrill screeching as the cloaked ship scraped against Silverscreen's ship.

The comms sputtered. "Ship.. fall back. Dismantle… use teleporter-"

A gloved hand smashed into the dashboard. The comms sputtered once again and died. Cloak's hand leaked yellow blood onto the console.

The ship flew closer and closer to the azure planet. A sheen of red-orange glowed about the ship as it entered the stratosphere. Oxygen-rich, Savage thought numbly to themselves.

"Move over, amateur!" Nikolee's voice echoed in Savage's head.

The Deadbeat leaped to their feet, wrench in hand, only to realize that it was Candela who had screamed, not Nikolee, Candela who had crashed into the pilot's seat, grabbing the steering arc like it was their last, desperate lifeline.

Savage climbed up onto the dashboard and scanned the blue planet. There was one sad, small patch of land amongst the water, looking bigger and more akin to a brick wall by the second. "There! Landing strip!"

Relief flooded for a second in Savage's brain as Candela shifted the ship to the right. They were aiming for the patch of green, surrounded by a strip of light-colored sand, until

"...Too small."

Savage had to do a double-take.

"Candela, now's not the time to-"

"Our landing site's TOO SMALL!" Candela was suddenly shouting again.

The island was a lot smaller than the map made it look. Worse, it was covered not in a grass or flat ground, but with trees. The island was very rapidly growing in size as the lights of the craft flickered and flashed red.

"EVERYONE TELEPORT OUT!" Savage grabbed Candela by the scruff of the neck. The human wriggled out of their grasp and grabbed Savage's arm. They both made a break for it towards the teleporter.

Raiko somehow was flung from the side of the ship to the teleporter, looking dazed, fresh blood coating her cheek. The attraction staff clattered from her limp hand. Medotha rushed to the teleporter and activated it. Flash, gone.

Chips bodily threw a bloodied Viktorija towards the dashboard and rushed for the teleporter. Flash of light. Both gone.

It was only a dazed Silverscreen, a lucid Cloak, Candela, and Savage in the room.

Savage glanced at Candela, who was still taking out his fury on the treacherous Glitch.

If the majority of the crew didn't have Candela with them, the rest of the crew would be fucked. Savage on the other hand...

Wordlessly, Savage pulled Candela along. Candela tugged fruitlessly away.

"I'm going down with this ship," Candela growled impetuously. "And that bot over there."

Savage roughly shoved Candela onto the platform. "Not your ship."

Silverscreen suddenly rushed over, babbling incoherently, though some words like "sorry" and "apologetic" and "please don't leave me here" rushed over to the teleporter. Cloak, his leaking face contorted in disgust, lunged for Silverscreen, barely scratching his dented metal leg. The Glitch leaped for the teleporter, and Candela's sudden look of shock and the beginnings of his protest were dissolved in a beam of white light.

Now it was just Cloak and Savage, who suddenly felt weak and exhausted. They collapsed to their knees, the ship's klaxon going off at an almost constant whine.

Cloak suddenly stood over them.

"Don't bother," Savage grunted.

And the world exploded in a cacophony of sound and fire.


	10. Chapter 10 - Facetious

This is partially an experimental chapter because I'm super hungry and I need more time to plan out the next angst chapter. Also a lot shorter because I'm using less words for this one. If this seems disjointed, that's because it's supposed to be.

I hope someone's reading this at least! Thanks krazyfan06 for hanging out here for so long!

-C

* * *

 _How To Brew The Perfect Cup Of Tea_

 _Make sure you find the perfect leaves; purely lab-grown, of the right strain and age._

 _Heat your water in the best teapot you can find; take one from a pantry if you can._

 _Warm the water to exactly 100 degrees Celsius; the perfect temperature to extract what you need._

 _Steep the tea for two to five minutes;_

 _Toss out the tea leaves; they won't be missed._

 _Drink._

 _Relax._

 _-Fedor (pseud.), Apex revolutionary_

* * *

A teacup clinked onto the table in the breakroom, held by a Novakid glowing yellow. Twenty minutes of break, no more, no less.

The clock beeped. At any moment, whoever had joined the visitors to tear Silverscreen a new one would jeopardize the mission. They were simply a spanner in the works, but they were simply too disorganized and inexperienced to do any real harm.

While that nonsense was going on, those people unhappy with Raiju's policies, their hypocrisies, extortions, environmental degradation, sentient experiments, and even tax evasion, would take down this company.

No wonder the boss lady cracked down on everyone's schedules. She's more perceptive than she looks.

The Raiju Janitor looked out into the early afternoon sun and watched the sun sparkle on the bright blue pools. The fifth shift was ending, and fast.

The rest of them had made their move.

Just a little more waiting.

* * *

"Wait, wait, cap, what's that?"

Fifth shift of the day. The local star seemed to be taking an easy day as it lazily stepped over the midheaven point, carefully and cautiously. The shadows of the day shifted over the bright blue pools, littered with long-legged birds carefully picking through the wet sand, scooping up cultured freshwater fish with their beaks.

"Tozi, your aunt's here," the Hylotl guard said, pointing out the window, all three eyes narrowed in a squint.

"What do you mean? I hate her- oh." The Avian guard, feathers dyed pink and green in a relatively subdued slickback, glared at her partner, who was chuckling at his own wit. "That's the fifth time today."

"Too bad I've hit my daily quota."

"Nah, I think you can do better." As high as her rank was and how unquestionable her loyalties were to Raiju, she was more laid-back than was expected of her. That didn't stop her from being absolutely loyal to Raiju if a bit annoyingly outspoken. Of course, she never did more than toe the line or clown around with her subordinates in off hours.

Popular too, but not universally so.

"Look at that bird. It's got only one leg," the Hylotl said, pointing outside. "No, I'm being serious this time!" He added quickly, under Tozi's quizzical stare.

"Shift's not over, kid. We still have to do three more rounds. Birds that aren't your commanding officer can wait." Tozi checked her holster (fifth time today, something definitely was up), and continued down the corridor.

"Right behind you, boss." The Hylotl straightened up behind his superior.

The next few minutes were spent in silence.

The silence was broken by a gunshot, both the Avian and Hylotl falling to the ground. The smell of burnt flesh was filtered out by the cooling system within seconds of rising.

* * *

"You sure none of them crawled into the cooling systems?"

"Cooling systems aren't meant to let insects in, sir."

"Correct answer."

"Did we get all of them?"

"Yeah, minus the five we used for, you know, Little Blue."

"God, I hate that nickname. Who died and made you president of the Name Club?"

"The Pris did. His nicknames sucked anyway."

"Ha! Like yours were any better.

"..."

"..."

"I'm resigning next week."

"Why's that?"

"I don't really feel this planet. There's nothing but sand."

"What, you want to work on the Lava outpost instead?"

"No, there's nothing but ash. I wanted to work for the Protectorate, but it's pretty much… dead."

"You know how the boss lady feels about just up and leaving. And I'm your superior, so I get to have a say."

"No, you don't. Then again, this is Raiju rules, so whatever."

"Look, you know you have to put in two months' notice before resigning, right?"

"Yeah. I wanted to, but the Pris ruined our project. I couldn't think of anything else."

"Well, you can consider today Day 1 of your two months. I'll contact the Review after cleaning up."

"You won't have to. Just let it happen, okay? I don't think many people will be thinking of me much."

"...What's that sound?"

"I said that I'd be leaving in a week, right?"

* * *

"It's okay Lochs, they'll be gone in a week."

"Mac, get behind me." Lochs loaded a plasma rifle and practiced aiming, taking a moment to roll his eyes at Mac. Follow your arm, keep both eyes open, exhale on the burst. Just like the mandatory defense training a week ago. Incidentally, the only defense training Lochs bothered to attend in all his time at Raiju. No one noticed by virtue of Lochs being in charge of the two other gremlins that no one wanted to be associated with.

The younger technician was precariously balancing on some boxes. Lochs had long forgotten what was in those boxes, as there were so many projects going on that Lochs usually lost track. "This is the best time for you to cut and run, Lochs. Especially since you hate your job and everything."

 _That's not funny, you compact psychopath_. "People are going to get hurt. Get behind me. Where's Mish?"

"She went out for a powder."

Lochs groaned. More complications. Even though they were situated in a relatively closed-off portion of the facility, it was easy to see where the problem would lie; if the conflict was brewing from within, then the traitors would know exactly how to get to whatever it is they wanted in here. They'd probably trample all over Mish too, given that she wasn't part of the conspiracy. The forbidden shower was probably the thing they wanted, but what would they want from some old experimental junk?

Mac scoffed as Lochs prepared to switch off the power. "You don't even want to be here. Just let them pass and you can just make a run for it."

"You are so bad at trying to be the truther. I'm putting this on your list of reasons why you should be fired."

"I'm not trying to be a truther!" Mac jumped up and waved his arms, agitated. "I'm just seriously trying to give you a way out before this all blows over!"

"Really, Mac? Do you think they're just going to let me leave? You think I won't be seen or such by these people?" Lochs grabbed a rolling table and shoved it across the room. The wheels rattled and complained as they slid over a variety of bolts and screws, most of which were too broken to use. "I don't trust anyone who can set off the alarms and throw everything into a mess within 30 minutes." _Like you did like twice last lunar cycle. Guess who got their pay docked?_

"Well maybe if you'd talk to them-"

"And risk having them get the first shot at us?" Lochs approached the table and pressed it against the door. "Not a chance."

He could already hear the thumping of boots outside, along with the clink of weapons. Loch's hand shook, but he stabilized it with his other hand, nails digging into his skin.

The footfalls outside of the room stopped. Someone banged on the doors. Once. Twice. The sounds echoed into nothingness. Even Mac was silent.

A tremendous blast knocked the doors inward.

A group of all kinds of people, humans, Hylotl, even a Novakid, crowded the space outside the room. The table lay crumpled amongst the corners. Lochs couldn't feel his gun.

The last thing he remembered seeing was Mac on his beloved pile of boxes, one of them flying at the crowd. Then everything went white.

* * *

Why did breaches always have to be so loud? The Janitor gave the armored Apex guard a bleak look. The dark-furred Guard stood before what once was a wall, but now was smoldering bits of metal plating, circuitry, and piping.

"Everything in order?"

"As it should be."

The Janitor abandoned his mop and bucket and walked out of the break room. "There was a door, Apex."

"It was locked."

"You could have just forced it open."

"It's better collateral damage to deal with once this coup succeeds. Also, it's more cathartic" The Apex gave the Novakid janitor a small handgun. The Novakid took it and spun it around on their finger, only to stop upon noticing the Apex guard's disgusted look.

"Don't do that, idiot. Keep your finger on the trigger."

The Novakid janitor nodded and followed the guard.

For a while, there was no conversation. Only the Janitor attempting to break the monotony by breaking step and doing a little jig to keep up, plus the very occasional gunshot or roaring in the distance. Maybe people, maybe bombs. Their corridor was eerily silent by comparison.

"We're at the secure point, the Guard said, pressing himself against the wall. The Janitor followed suit, leaning close to a set of doors. This was the next bit of the plan: ruining Raiju's image enough for it to slip even further down the ranks. The same type of media sabotage wouldn't work on the giant Letheia, but for someone whose image, power, and influence over her own company was waning, this could be enough to tip the scales.

All they had to do was steal some files, then broadcast them. It shouldn't be too tough; The Janitor had been staking out Document Wing B for months. It was easy; no one ever paid attention to janitors.

"I thought no one was going to be in here," the Janitor mused, fiddling with the pistol. The Apex barked before the Novakid could stick their finger into the barrel.

"Can't be too sure. She's predictable, but not that predictable."

With that, the Apex Guard quietly slid the doors open.

* * *

A light-haired Apex guard burst into the double doors.

"We are having a meeting here. Get out." Ane Ou's face looked as impassive ever, but the guard knew that the barest change in her expression could cost him a job. Not that it mattered at this point.

"They've launched their offensive."

Ane Ou didn't seem remotely surprised.

"How long ago?" she asked.

"First casualties reported five minutes ago, skirmishes in the North wing, and a blackout in the lab basement. There's no question."

"Very well. Get back to your station. Congratulations are in order if you survive."

The guard bowed out. Ane Ou watched him go, an implacable look on her face.

"Joe, you go as well."

"Negative, madam." Lazy Joe responded, a grave tone in his voice. "You nearly made a slip just a while ago. You think I'm going to let you cross borders?"

Ane Ou paused. Her mouth was partially open, as though in shock, but her red eyes still were devoid of strong emotion.

"This company already sees you weak. I am not going to let you slip up even further and end it for good."

Ane Ou shook her head and said quietly, "Joe, you are not the only adult in this room."

Ane Ou stood up. Her legs were mostly bare, except for the right. It was covered in a dark iron cast. From under the seat, she pulled out a massive sword. No Raiju logo, just a sword in a black and gold scabbard.

"I trust you more than the entirety of my company, Joe. And I trust you to keep things running. You, on the other hand, will have to trust that I will be able to take care of my company for half a day."

Lazy Joe gave her a silent almost-glare from under the brim of his hat.

"It is one thing to take out my frustrations on strangers. It is another to ensure this entire company does not fall apart in the hands of traitors."

Lazy Joe remained silent. His expression, if possible, looked even more stern.

"Joe." Ane Ou's voice took on a hard edge. "If I am seen as weak, then let me earn back my respect. If I fail, then you'll know what to do."

"Say no more."

Joe broke his gaze, in resignation. He gave his guns one more check and slouched towards the doors. "I'm out. I'll watch the security footage when this blows over."

* * *

Chips walked towards the locker doors in a heavy stomp, before tearing off the door to an emergency locker. It took several ounces of solvent scavenged from another locker they shouldn't have had access to until an outdated shortsword convinced the lock otherwise.

In essence, Medotha permanently wrecked the entire door with her swords and then some.

"Where's Savage?" Raiko looked about from the bench by the wall, partially recovered from her nausea. Her rightmost eye was still blinking erratically, however.

Medotha turned away. "Didn't make it to the teleporter, probably."

Raiko's three eyes shut themselves, then opened wide. For a moment, a pained expression riddled her face. She opened her mouth, as though she was about to say something, then stopped. No one else seemed to have noticed, nor did anyone react to one of their own being left behind.

Raiko sighed. "Never mind. We have a job to do."

Medotha wordlessly reached for the door and slid it open.


	11. Chapter 11 - Breach

I have not been playing too much Warframe to do anything else. I have not.

Anyway, I'm back! I had to take a break from writing this because I wasn't happy with it, but I'm starting to enjoy my garbage again! Here's the long-awaited (by no one) backstory angst episode!

Also I'm uploading this in the dead of night, i'll fix any errors tomorrow.

-C

* * *

 _What is tangible is not real._  
-Unknown

Spacecraft, when pulled out of the void and into the gravity field, have many spectacular ways of ending one's life. First, there is the issue of depressurization outside of an atmosphere, which, if lucky, could kill everyone on board through ruptured lungs or breathing tubes. If the atmosphere is thick enough, the vehicle could start heating up as the craft punches through the gas blanket, which fortunately most vehicles are equipped to deal with. Unfortunately, some unscrupulous shipbuilders end up cutting corners, making ships less sturdy and more susceptible to melting from the outside. This is even more of a problem as the atmospheric pressure thickens, and the ship has to fight off against the crushing force of reentry or simply collapse upon itself. If the weather of the planet involves powerful atmospheric winds, the trajectory of the craft could be drastically altered, or at worst, the craft could be sent spinning wildly into unprecedented territory. As if there weren't enough to worry about, there is the problem of the landing port, which could spell the difference between debilitating injury and a quick, painless death. Small, single-personnel aircraft could live with very little to work with for a landing site, but most commercial and private spacecraft require spaces that at least fit them, plus some wiggle room. And then there's water, which can do everything from cushion a spacecraft's fall to tear apart wings and fins in waves and currents.

Of course, a trained pilot could have fixed most of that. A pilot who wasn't being threatened by an unknown assailant. And Savage was no pilot.

The Kreuse hurtled through the atmosphere of this new planet, all hopes of controlled landing all but lost. The craft veered dangerously towards the deep blue of the planet until it stabilized, towards the shallows of a small planet. The impact of the ship rippled from the shallows to the deep, until the initial ripples diminished, blending into the larger waves and becoming one with the deep.

* * *

Savage wasn't sure how they survived.

The Deadbeat struggled to limp out of the burning ship, legs dragging through the water. They could dimly feel the pain in their legs, an odd stinging in their right leg. The weight of the water only served to drag them down more and more the more they walked, much like lead weights strapped to their legs. The humid air of their unknown crash planet permeated the atmosphere. Fortunately, the water only went up to their waist, then descended lower and lower the more they limped.

They reached the damp, golden sand and collapsed, nose-first. The taste of sand mingled with a sharp, iron sting in their mouth.

Where's Cloak?

With great difficulty, Savage . They only had a vague, blurry picture before their arm gave out, stuffing their face full of sand once more. A wave of pain rattled from the middle of their chest down to their toes. They've had something like this before. Not too bad, though the blurry vision was a bit of a problem.

Pain means you're still alive.

Savage took a breath, braced their arm, and flipped themselves over.

They were definitely ready to assess their injuries and move towards a safe location.

For one, Savage had lost count of how many times Cloak had thrown him onto the dashboard, or how many other times the ship itself wobbled its riders, so the number of bruises and impact wounds were understandable. What was really worrisome was how much blood was coated down the front of their jacket. Their leg was also laid out at a strange angle, or perhaps it was just their blurry glasses playing tricks on them, never mind that they never wore glasses. The pain was… Savage had to admit that it was bad. The pain was centered on their front and leg, but there was no time to deal with that. Besides, they had to deal with worse. As long as they could get somewhere secure, and get some items to patch themselves up with, they would be fine.

Everything seemed off color, probably because everything was in some level singed. Or scorched. Or maybe they were just on some planet with some very toxic and colorful atmosphere.

Savage staggered upwards. Guess this planet had a perpetual earthquake too. Cloak didn't seem to be around. Perhaps he died in the crash, or maybe he was somewhere licking his wounds. Either way, it didn't pay to stay out in the open.

Find some cover. You can't sit out here looking like bait.

They planted their left hand onto the sand and propped themselves up. They almost simply collapsed. Their vision was clearing, but it only made their trail of blood more visible. Not that they felt too uneasy about it. They've had worse.

Their right leg refused to support their weight. More than the pain of having their skin ripped open, entire parts of their leg felt numb. They couldn't possibly drag it through the sand; they've had someone clean out a wound that had festered with particles of sand small enough to ruin electronics. Not to mention the water that had already clearly seeped its way into the wound, inviting infection.

Finally, they came to the edge of the forest. The foliage gave some welcome refuge against the hot sun. Inside, the songs of birds and crickets filled the balmy air. The shade was no refuge from the humidity, but it would at least make it harder for Cloak to find them.

A splash echoed from behind Savage, along with the creaking of something metallic. Without even looking back, they grit their teeth and dove into the undergrowth.

Their leg let out a hot flash of pain in protest.

Keep running.

The leaves ambled by, shining and green. Savage brushed past grasses and herbs and some shrubs, stumbling and finding support against a tree, their breath coming in gasps. A few times, they misjudged, or their body simply gave out, falling straight onto the ground. The hum of strange alien insects and the heat pounded against Savage's head. But they had to-

Keep going.

The forest eventually gave way to a desert, the plants collapsing into sand. The trees eventually thinned into a wide, reddish wasteland, bits of machinery sticking out of the-

Watch your step.

Savage opened their eyes. The bits of metal and plating shone clear and bright as day, sticking out of the ground. Another massive mechanical structure loomed in the distance, bleached and rusted over by years of disuse. Their next stop, probably rich in scrap metal and materials if other looters hadn't gotten there already. They'd only spotted it this morning, and have spent all day trekking toward it, Nikolee advising against too many breaks. But first...

"Keep up. I don't think this place had been cleared out properly." Nikolee spoke slowly and clearly, as though speaking to a child. She stood atop a massive boulder some 500 meters away, seated and watching Savage through narrowed eyes, shielding the soft bits from the late afternoon sun. The boulder stood vertically, seemingly stretching towards the sky, with Nikolee at its apex. The sun glared off the faceted stone, partially obscuring her figure in reflected sunlight. "You'd best be careful."

Savage tracked Nikolee's route. No doubt she had put half of her own mines down as a test, but it wasn't obvious. Plus, other people who had come and gone here most likely put down their own mines down, before getting killed or simply leaving them there, for whatever reason. Just another area fresh for one of her insane gauntlets.

She probably had been getting bored.

The footprints Nikolee left were still fresh. Rookie mistake. Savage took a step forward-

The buried mine blew. Savage only was barely lucky; their leg only caught a few chunks of rock that cut through their pants. Might have to clean the rock out of their leg after this.

"Try again, don't follow my footprints." Nikolee didn't bother hiding the annoyance from her voice.

Savage ignored the leg. Sure it's going to fester soon, but Nikolee wasn't just going to let him slide. They knew better than to just slow down to lick a few wounds. Then again, all of this could be avoided if Savage could just walk away.

Then again, surviving in a desert is much easier with two people than one.

Savage did another scan. The mines didn't seem to be buried very deep, and some of them were just barely poking out of the sand, just enough to be visible. Nikolee's fresh track, now that Savage had looked, was just newly made, the clean path noticeably more elevated than the rest. The mines seemed to extend left and right, and judging from the pattern, it encircled the boulder that Nikolee now stood on.

There, a path. To the left, ten feet away from Nikolee's decoy. There could be mines down there, but at least they weren't overt or anything. Savage picked up a good sized rock, hefty and rough, with just enough weight to trigger a mine. They threw it in an arc, with enough force to disturb the path.

No explosion. A step forward then.

Nikolee was sitting, her face a stern mask of something in between stern protectiveness and cold derision, the kind of derision that a roving gang leader would wear while looking over their territory. Savage shook her face from their vision and threw the rock again. It landed again, a small cloud of sand rising up from the impact.

Nikolee said nothing, but Savage could tell she was unmoved.

Savage repeated this for a third time. And a fourth time. The wind also started picking up, revealing the rest of the mines. Did she really have this much time to put them in the sand? And was that the sound of a sandstorm in the distance?

A breakthrough. One of the rocks triggered something. The mine spewed force, grit, and rock ten feet into the air. Savage turned and found a path with very little mines. No footprints, so this was less likely to be a trap. Savage gingerly placed a foot on the bare rocky ground, and no mine detonated. Nikolee looked down on them with a stern nod.

Something rushing, like a thousand whispers, seemed to be approaching quickly. Nikolee didn't seem to notice the sound, or the wind picking up. She continued to gaze down at Savage, with less passion than the rock she stood on.

Click. Something else was clicking. Like someone walking through foliage. Or was that just the wind? Were one of the mines remotely activated?

Suddenly, green and red mines started flickering, the wind rustling the sand. The lights were everywhere, glittering like the sun over a short-lived oasis. Savage felt a cold sensation crawl down their scalp.

The first mine blew, sending sand and debris ten feet into the air. Then another. And another, barely ten feet away.

Savage instinctively crouched down, hands clutched at their ears. They couldn't find it in themselves to run through the mines. The sounds were deafening, more of a continuous roar now. Through the rush of the explosions, the sand now saturating the air, Savage saw one face, Nikolee's face now strained in fear as she screamed for Savage to run.

Run.

An explosion knocked them aside into a tree. Savage bounced off the wood and hit the ground at its roots.

The air was humid. It always was on this island. On this planet. The sand was now cool leaves. The plants were back, the sun now shining through green leaves, And blocking the light was a familiar, hooded silhouette. Except Savage could just make out the bandages over their face.

Savage sighed, feeling tension leak out of their arms and their one good leg. They didn't even bother sitting up, and continued to lay half-splayed against the tree's roots. Savage noted that the ocean was still visible behind the trees framing Cloak. "Took you long enough," they groaned.

"Not quick enough, it seems." Cloak stood tall, except that their right side seemed a bit crumpled. Or it could still be their mind playing tricks. Or maybe it was a teleportation device. Who knew how much more tech he was hiding down there. "You really should have stayed and waited for someone to help."

Savage chuckled. "No one else here but you. Gonna patch me up and send me on my way?"

Cloak waved a gloved hand dismissively. The previously brown glove was smattered with a texturing of dark red. "You were speaking to someone else," Cloak responded. He knelt down, just above Savage's level. "Do you know where they are?"

"I… don't know where she went." Savage coughed. "She's not here."

"I'd like to find her." Cloak nodded.

"Mm." Savage flopped back onto the damp ground. They had no idea why they seemed so interested in Nikolee. It probably no longer mattered. "You done talking yet? Would really be great if I could get away from you. Here, I mean."

"Yes. Unfortunately, I cannot help you, and you lot technically are a rogue ship. All the medical supplies were ruined in the wreck." Cloak shook their head and pulled out their handgun. "I promise to make it clean and quick.

"Could have just killed us with that, you know. Much less hassle."

Cloak shook his head. "This one was supposedly for emergencies. I don't like killing. I avoid it as much as possible. Though I can make one exception for this." He checked the trigger and pointed it at Savage with an audible click.

Savage felt inclined to laugh. All that nonsense of pulling Candela to the teleporter, all that foolery about making plans that all have failed, and it all came down to being gunned down by some alien on who knows what planet on who knows what system.

Boy, if only Nikolee could see this. She'd pull the trigger herself.

Savage heard themselves laugh, the bile and blood rising in their throat, their vision starting to go amok. Cloak's vision slowly melted like a cheap printout dropped into water.

Cloak's head tilted, as though they were curious. Savage could just see the pity beneath the bandages. Or maybe they heard it. No point in thinking about the difference now.

Savage never had time to close their eyes. The gunshot cascaded throughout the island.

A flash of blue.


End file.
